§ Mr. Francis Noel-Bakerasked the Minister of Transport whether he will now make an announcement about the proposed line of the M.4 motorway between Tormarton and Maidenhead.
§ Mr. Tom FraserI hope to publish next month a draft Special Road Scheme for the 30 miles of M.4 from Tormarton in Gloucestershire to Liddington in Wiltshire. Except for minor local variations the line follows closely the "modified direct route" already announced as the 225W line for detailed survey. There will, of course, be the statutory period of three months from the date of publication during which objections to the proposals can be lodged.
The remaining section eastwards to Maidenhead presents more difficulty. Since the consulting engineers carried out the bulk of their survey there have been certain developments of wide significance—notably those arising from the Channel Tunnel project and the South East England Study. Further information has also become available from the Reading and District Traffic Survey. In these circumstances I have asked the consulting engineers to re-examine certain sections of their report in the light of these developments. I have also appointed another firm of consulting engineers to carry out a study of the approaches to M.4 from the south of London and the extreme south-east of England.
I fully understand the difficulty and anxiety which lack of information about the line of M.4 is causing in Berkshire, and I will do my best to reach a decision as soon as possible. I am pressing ahead with the necessary preliminary consultations so that I can seek the views of the major authorities concerned at the earliest possible date.