§ Mr. DowdTo ask the Secretary of State for Transport (1) what considerations have been taken into account by his Department on the need for the east London river crossing, in the light of his Department's proposals for a further Thames crossing between Poplar and Greenwich;
561W(2) what bodies have already been consulted by his Department over proposals for the further Thames crossing between Poplar and Greenwich;
(3) when the consultants employed by his Department to look at the proposed Thames crossing between Poplar and Greenwich are expected to report; and when the proposals will go out to public consultation.
§ Mr. NorrisThe Department's consultants have reported on their study into a third crossing of the River Thames at Blackwall. The Department has since consulted on an informal basis the London boroughs of Greenwich and of Tower Hamlets and the London Docklands development corporation about the study's findings. It has had similar informal consultation with British Gas because of its wide-ranging Port Greenwich development proposals on its lands at Blackwall peninsula. A public consultation exercise is planned for later next month, and detailed arrangements will be announced shortly.
The need for the east London river crossing, fully debated at public inquiries in 1985–86, is not diminished by the possibility of a third crossing at Blackwall. It is required to provide a missing strategic link in the trunk road system by completing the extension of the North Circular road from the A13 to the A2.