§ Mr. Gerald Howarthasked the Secretary of State for Transport how many members of the public responded to the public consultation concerning the proposed M6 north orbital route; and what was the relative support each proposed option received.
§ Mr. Peter BottomleyAbout 40,000 consultation documents were distributed covering the whole route. Some 6,300 questionnaires were returned. In addition, several hundred letters were received together with petitions containing nearly 11,000 signatures.
No clear ranking order emerged for the Essington to Bassetts Pole section; the marginal balance of opinion favoured an outer route following the general line of 481W A5/A38—rather than a fresh intrusion into open countryside. Additionally in this corridor a small majority endorsed the Chasewater variation. For the Bassetts Pole to Coleshill section 80 per cent. of the responses favoured the yellow route.