HC Deb 01 December 1993 vol 233 cc547-8W
Mr. Walden

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment (1) whether the public inquiry into the Wing bypass will now be reopened;

(2) what information was given to the public inquiry into the Wing bypass regarding the full implications of the TERN decision for the route;

(3) what assessment he has made regarding the adequacy of the information about the adoption of the A418 as a trans-European route by TERN that was made available to the public in the course of consultations about this route.

Mr. Baldry

We are currently considering the inspector's report on the planning applications by Buckinghamshire county council for the Wing bypass. Those applications were called in by the Secretary of State for his own determination and a public local inquiry held. A post-inquiry statement on behalf of Sir Evelyn de Rothschild has been received, which raises, inter alia, the proposed inclusion of the Wing bypass as a route within the Trans-European Route Network (TERN). We have referred that statement to the parties involved with the inquiry into the Wing bypass to give them an opportunity to comment.

We have no proposals to reopen the inquiry into the Wing bypass at the present time. We will consider, in the light of the comments received on the statement made on behalf of Sir Evelyn de Rothschild, both whether the status of the Wing bypass within TERN is material, and, if so, whether we have sufficient information on it to reach a conclusion.