§ Mr. Peter BottomleyTo ask the Secretary of State for Transport when the Birmingham northern relief road was expected to have been begun and completed before the tolling decision was taken.
§ Mr. Kenneth CarlisleIn May 1989, when it was announced that the Birmingham northern relief road would be privately financed, the Department estimated that a public sector scheme could not have opened until the mid-1990s, allowing for a three-year construction period. That estimate was however very tentative: the statutory procedures for the public scheme had not been completed; the implications of new national traffic forecasts had not been incorporated; and the availability of public finance could not be guaranteed.