§ Janet AndersonTo ask the Secretary of State for Transport by whom the decision was made to name the services at junction 4 of the M65 motorway The Blackburn Services; and who was consulted before the decision was taken. [91934]
§ Mr. JamiesonI have asked the chief executive of the Highways Agency, Tim Matthews, to write to my hon. Friend.
Letter from T. Matthews to Ms Janet Anderson, dated 23 January 2003:
I have been asked by David Jamieson to reply to your recent Parliamentary Question about the naming of the Motorway Services at Junction 4 of the M65 in Lancashire.The developer of this service area initiated the name "The Blackburn Services".The development was submitted to Blackburn with Darwen Borough Council for planning approval. When considering planning applications, the Council is required to undertake 512W consultations with a standard list of consultees, which in the case of a proposed motorway service area includes the Highways Agency. When consulted, our considered view was that the proposed facility was in the interests of road users, and we therefore made no objection to the proposal. Once these consultations, required by the planning process, are complete, there is no requirement to consult further.The Highways Agency would only have intervened in the naming of these services if we considered that road safety could have been compromised by the provision of misleading or confusing information on our road signs.If you would like any further information about this matter, you may wish to contact the Agency's Route Manager for this section of the M65, Roy Wood, at Sunley Tower, Piccadilly Plaza, Manchester, Ml 4BE (Tel 0161 930 5686).