§ Mr. Robert HicksTo ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will state the total number of representations his Department have received in response to the A38 trunk road improvement between Liskeard and Bodmin, indicating(a) the numbers favouring the options to the north and south of Dobwalls, respectively, (b) the numbers favouring the options to the north and south of the A390, respectively and (c) the number who would have preferred a Glynn valley option.
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§ Mr. ChopeMore than 500 completed questionnaires were received in response to the recent public consultation on the proposed improvement of the A38, Liskeard to Bodmin. The questionnaires are still being evaluated. We will make a full statement on the results of the public consultation when the preferred route is announced towards the end of the year.
§ Mr. Robert HicksTo ask the Secretary of State for Transport when and for what reasons the decision was taken not to include an upgrading of the A38 on a new line of route through the Glynn valley as an option as part of the A38 trunk road improvement between Bodmin and Liskeard; and if he will make a statement.
§ Mr. ChopeThe decision not to include a new route through the Glynn valley as one of the options for the improvement of the A38, Liskeard to Bodmin, was taken at an early stage in the development of the scheme.
Forecasts of future traffic indicate that a dual carriageway road will be necessary. The poor vertical and horizontal alignment of the existing road through the valley precludes its use as half of a dual carriageway system. It would be necessary to build a completely new road.
The topography of the valley is such that building a new dual carriageway through it would be extremely difficult. Major engineering works, including substantial earthworks and structures, would have a very damaging impact on the environment of the valley, which is the central feature of the Mid-Fowey special area of great landscape value and a Cornwall nature conservation site.