§ Mr. Giles Shawasked the Secretary of State for the Environment, with regard to his Department's consultative document on the Kirkhamgate-Dishforth motorway, (a) upon what factual basis he has estimated the number of dwellings to be demolished by the proposed routes, (b) how the estimated costs for the four schemes compare with the estimated cost for the Airedale trunk road scheme announced in April 1975, and (c) how much of the cost of supplementary highway schemes is essential irrespective of the planned motorway.
§ Dr. Gilbert(a) Each of the four possible routes in the consultation document represents a corridor within which the 519W road would ultimately be built. The number of houses mentioned as likely to be demolished has been estimated for a typical route in each corridor.
(b) The estimated construction costs of the four possible routes are respectively £59 million (red), £62 million (brown), £80 million (blue) and £76 million (purple) and their costs per mile £1.6 million, £1.7 million, £1.9 million and £1.8 million respectively. The construction cost of the Airedale route is estimated at £35 million, about £3.2 million per mile. The higher estimated cost per mile of the Airedale route arises from its urban nature and the difficult terrain involved.
(c) It would be necessary to review the whole situation should the Kirkhamgate-Dishforth route not be built. However, at least all seven of the supplementary highway schemes listed in the consultation document would be required at an approximate cost of £30 million.