HC Deb 04 April 1990 vol 170 cc612-3W
Mr. Neale

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what further developments there have been in private financing for roads since the publication of the Green Paper, "New Roads by New Means"; and if he will make a statement.

Mr. Parkinson

The Green Paper set out proposals for new legislation and procedures to authorise privately financed roads. We invited comments from the private sector and from a wide range of other organisations concerned with roads and transport.

The response was encouraging, with over 160 interested parties commenting. A number of potential problems were exposed and debated, but the overall message was one of wide support for the Government's aims.

Today the Government have published their response to the consultation.

We are making some additions to the proposals in "New Roads by New Means". Their purpose is to enhance the attraction of major road schemes for private sector funding by reducing some of the uncertainties. The details are in the published response which I have placed in the Library of the House.

I am pleased to be able to announce a number of other developments and initiatives. Last year the Government set up a competition for the Birmingham northern relief road. The response to this challenge has been good. Three pre-qualifying bids were received from consortia which have assembled a wide range of expertise. Today I have issued final tender invitations to all three bidders. This means that we should receive, this autumn, firm indications of how the road can be built and operated in the private sector.

I am also inviting the private sector to come forward with preliminary proposals for a new privately funded road between Birmingham and Manchester, as foreshadowed in the Green Paper. We have recently announced a public scheme to widen much of the existing M6 motorway. This will relieve congestion on the route of the motorway, but there will be a further need for extra capacity between the two cities in the longer term. We are looking to the private sector to consider innovative ways of meeting this longer-term need well into the 21st century.

I am inviting views about the suitability of six other schemes for private finance. The schemes I have in mind are:

  • a lower Thames crossing, east of the M25,
  • a new crossing of the River Tamar,
  • a new Mersey crossing serving Liverpool airport,
  • a link between the M25 and Chelmsford,
  • a new route parallel to the Al27 from the M25 to Rayleigh in Essex, and
  • a short link between the Al and MI at Scratchwood in north London.

The list is not a closed one. We are willing to consider proposals for the private financing of any scheme in the roads programme. We shall also welcome proposals for schemes not in the programme, since the Government do not have a monopoly of good ideas.

All roads financed by the private sector will be subject to the same form of environmental assessment as public schemes. The Government will insist that they are designed and built to the highest standards. We shall want to ensure also that road investment provides best value for money for taxpayers and users.

The response to the Green Paper shows that our proposals for the further development of private funding financing of transport projects enjoys widespread support. My new proposals will provide additional opportunities for the private sector to add to Britain's transport network.