HL Deb 09 June 1971 vol 320 cc382-3WA
LORD WOLVERTON

asked Her Majesty's Government when it is proposed to start:—

  1. (1) The Newmarket bypass, on A.11;
  2. (2) The Bury St. Edmunds bypass, on A.45;
  3. (3) The Stowmarket-Needham bypass, on A.45.

LORD SANDFORD

All three schemes are part of the plan for the comprehensive improvement of the trunk road A.45 —the main route between Ipswich and the Midlands. The Newmarket bypass will serve common lengths of both the A.45 and the A.11 (London-Norwich trunk road). The line of this bypass was fixed by my right honourable friend last December and preparatory work is proceeding with a view to reaching a programming decision next summer. If the scheme is included in the firm programme then, it would be hoped that construction might start by 1974.

The Bury St. Edmunds bypass scheme is in the firm programme. A public inquiry into the proposed route was held in the autumn and my right honourable friend fixed the route in April this year. Detailed preparation of the scheme is proceeding, and subject to the completion of land acquisition procedures it is hoped that construction may start in the first half of 1972.

Progress on the preparation of the Stowmarket-Needham Market-Claydon bypass has been delayed by difficulties in establishing the line which the bypass should follow. After a public inquiry into the proposed route last September the inspector recommended an alternative line, which is favoured by the East Suffolk County Council. My right honourable friend has accepted that this route is an economically feasible alternative to the published route, and the public has been invited to comment on it. My right honourable friend's final decision on the route to be adopted will be announced when he has considered all the objections and representations received. It is too early to say when the scheme may be programmed and a date set for the start of construction.