§ Sir Peter Millsasked the Secretary of State for Transport what assessment he has made of the environmental implication for the A30 of the southern route of the Okehampton bypass.
§ Mr. Peter BottomleyA careful assessment was made by the Department's professional landscape architects of the impact of the southern route on the environment before it was chosen. This followed public consultation in which the southern route was favoured by the district and county councils, and by the public, in preference to a northern route, which would have caused serious environmental damage, including a 90 ft high viaduct at Knowle.
The independent landscape advisory committee made several visits to Okehampton to consider possible routes. Its unwavering advice was that in landscape terms the southern route was the best.
The Department made great efforts in the selection of the route and design of the road to ensure that it would fit well into the landscape. It follows the natural contours of the land, much of it running close to the existing railway. In contrast to proposed northern routes, the chosen southern route will not be visible from the heights of Dartmoor to the south of Okehampton. There can be no doubt that the chosen route is, in environmental terms, the best one available for this vital bypass.
The new A30 will bring considerable improvement to the environment of Okehampton by removing traffic from the town centre. It will also remove nearly four miles of trunk road from the national park to the east.