§ Viscount Crossasked Her Majesty's Government:
Whether, in the interest of road safety and the convenience of the travelling public, they will ensure that the Department of Transport obtains planning permission for motorway service areas when motorways are planned, as is the practice in Europe; and
Whether they agree that service areas, providing essential facilities, are integral to the motorway system and, if so, why they do not provide them at the time motorways are built, rather than waiting many years, as now.
The Earl of CaithnessThe Government recognise the benefits of motorway service areas and have generally planned them at the same time as motorways. Nevertheless, planning and compulsory purchase procedures, often involving lengthy public inquiries, have sometimes delayed provision of services until after a new motorway has opened. For the future the Government have announced a new policy under which the private sector rather than the Department of Transport will bring forward100WA proposals for motorway service areas. We expect these arrangements to lead to the provision of more services more quickly.