§ Mr. Longdenasked the Secretary of State for the Environment what are the reasons for the delay in reaching his decision on the extension of the North Orbital road from Hunton Bridge to Maple Cross; and when he proposes to make an announcement.
§ Mr. Michael HeseltineMy right hon. Friend's decision will appear in theLondon Gazette on Tuesday 23rd March. It was necessary to give very careful consideration to the strong objections to the published proposals. However my right hon. Friend has now decided that the draft Section 7 Order should be confirmed incorporating slight modifications at either end of the route. At Maple Cross it has been realigned to avoid the destruction of Beechen Dell whilst at Hunton Bridge the route has been moved slightly eastwards to improve the junction between A41 and A411. In addition, he has decided in the light of traffic evidence that the road should be built to motorway standards and separate proposals for this will be published in due course.
Draft proposals for alterations to existing roads and footpaths and for land acquisition will be published shortly and it is hoped that construction can be started in 1972.