§ Mr. LuffTo ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions what non-road solutions county councils should demonstrate they have considered when putting forward a request for funding for a village bypass designed to reduce the volume of traffic passing through that village. [80581]
§ Ms Glenda JacksonThe allocation of central government funding for local transport projects will in future be based on 5-year local transport plans. Revised guidance for local authorities on preparation of their provisional local transport plans was published on 12 April. Where a major road scheme forms part of a plan we will expect it to have been assessed using the New Approach to Appraisal (NATA) developed during the 1997/98 review of the trunk road programme.
NATA requires the identification of alternative options capable of addressing the transport problem. Possible options will depend on the nature of the problem. In the case of heavy traffic flows through a village they might 545W include alternative traffic management strategies; seeking to reduce traffic flows by encouraging a shift to alternative forms of transport; or introduction of traffic calming measures to reduce the adverse impacts of the traffic. This process should also include assessment of different routes and standards for any bypass.