Greater Manchester Relief Road (Hansard, 1 November 1990)

§ Mr. Sumberg
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport whether he has considered in relation to the Greater Manchester western and northern relief road alterations to a dual three-lane motorway.

§ Mr. Chope
Our present proposals are to widen the M62 between junctions 12 and 17 to dual four-lane motorway and to provide the Greater Manchester western and northern relief road as a dual three-lane motorway. We shall review these standards as our investigations proceed.

§ Mr. Burt
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport whether he will bring public consultation over the proposed Greater Manchester northern and western relief road forward from its originally planned time scale.

§ Mr. Chope
Public consultation cannot take place until our initial investigations have been completed. These are continuing and are unlikely to be finalised in time to allow any advance in the programme.

§ Mr. Sumberg
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what representations he has received from the residents of Bury, South in relation to proposals from his Department for the Greater Manchester northern and western relief road.

§ Mr. Chope
There have been 31 written representations from residents of the Bury, South constituency.

§ Mr. Burt
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what representations he has received from the metropolitan borough of Bury concerning the proposed Greater Manchester northern and western relief road.

§ Mr. Chope
The metropolitan borough of Bury was consulted on a confidential basis. I cannot therefore divulge the views expressed. It will be formally consulted at public consultation stage. Any responses will be made public after a decision on the options has been made.

§ Mr. Burt
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what representations he has received from residents in Bury, North over the proposed Greater Manchester northern and western relief road, M62.
706W

§ Mr. Chope
There have been 42 written representations from residents of the Bury, North constituency.

§ Mr. Sumberg
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what guidance was given by his Department to the metropolitan borough of Bury in relation to its unitary development plan and the impact of such plans on his Department's proposals for the Greater Manchester western and northern relief road.

§ Mr. Chope
The council has been advised that unitary development plans should make proper allowance for proposed modifications to the existing motorway and trunk road network which have been announced and for other changes arising from the reviews of the trunk road network. One of the purposes in consulting local authorities on specific road proposals is to allow them to comment on the effect of such proposals on their planning policy.

§ Mr. Sumberg
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will make it his policy to compensate the householders in Bury, South whose properties have been blighted as a result of the premature disclosure of the possible route of the Greater Manchester western and northern relief road.

§ Mr. Chope
Statutory blight provisions cannot be exercised until a route has been selected for protection against planning development. The Department will, however, consider exercising its discretionary powers of purchase when it publishes proposals for public comment.

§ Mr. Burt
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many bodies were supplied with confidential details of possible routes for the proposed Greater Manchester northern and western relief road.

§ Mr. Chope
The Department has consulted 33 organisations on an informal and in confidence basis.

§ Mr. Sumberg
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport whether his Department's proposals for the Greater Manchester western and northern relief road were made with the benefit of(a) an environmental impact assessment or (b) an economic evaluation of the costs and benefits.

§ Mr. Chope
Environmental assessments and economic evaluations will be done before proposals are put forward for public comment.

§ Mr. Burt
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what effect the completion of the M66 Middleton to Stockport will have upon proposals for the Greater Manchester western and northern relief road.

§ Mr. Chope
There will be no significant effect.

§ Mr. Sumberg
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what terms of reference were given to the consultants advising his Department on the Greater Manchester western and northern relief road.

§ Mr. Chope
The consultants have been asked to investigate and report on all the options for improving the M62 between junctions 12 and 17 and for the provision of a new route to the west and north of the existing motorway.

§ Mr. Sumberg
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport whether he will make a statement on the 707W Greater Manchester western and northern relief road and his Department's proposals for a route through the parliamentary constituencies of Bury, North and Bury, South.

§ Mr. Chope
I have nothing to add at present to the comments which I made in a letter to my hon. Friend on 28 August.

§ Mr. Sumberg
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what priority in the planned expenditure on motorways will be given to the Greater Manchester western and northern relief road; and what is the likely starting date of construction work.

§ Mr. Chope
Priority in the north-west region continues to be given to the completion of the last 10 miles of the Manchester outer ring road between Denton and Middleton and of the associated A6(M) Stockport north-south bypass. I can give no estimate as to when construction might start on the Greater Manchester western and northern relief road.