HC Deb 28 June 1993 vol 227 cc406-7W
Mr. Burns

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what is the distance on the A414 between the A414/Al2 junction and Sandon service station.

Mr. Key

Approximately 1.3 km—0.8 miles.

Mr. Burns

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will reconsider the decision given to the hon. Member for Chelmsford in his letter of 11 June not to allow fuel pump flash signs on the junction of the A414/A12; and if he will make a statement.

Mr. Key

No. I am satisfied that the decision taken is the right one. The facilities provided at Sandon service station do not meet the criteria laid down by the Department. The Department's policy on such signing guards against a proliferation of signs to services at some distance from the trunk road.

Mr. Burns

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport under what criteria emergency roadsigns have been installed on the M40 drawing to motorists' attention the availability of petrol for sale at distances of greater than a mile from the M40.

Mr. Key

Apart from a reduction in the minimum permitted spacing of motorway services announced August 1992, the longstanding criteria governing the location of services to be signed on a motorway remain unchanged. The 1991 decision to sign temporarily off-motorway fuel and lavatory facilities from the M40 in Oxfordshire and Warwickshire was taken to meet exceptional circumstances. The signs will be removed when permanent motorway service areas are available.

Mr. Burns

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what assessment his Department has made of the level of traffic using the A414 from the A414/A12 junction to Sandon service station; and what evidence underlies his conclusion that the installation of fuel pump flash signs at that junction would cause problems at the turn-off and in the local road network.

Mr. Key

Encouraging long distance through traffic to divert from the trunk road to Sandon service station would inevitably lead to extra pressure on the A12/A414 junction and adjoining local roads. When the A12 Chelmsford bypass was opened, temporary service signs were agreed only until such time as services with direct or easy access to the A12 were available. As other suitable facilities now exist adjacent to A 12 there are neither overriding grounds nor need to divert traffic from the main route.

Mr. Burns

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what petrol facilities are available to motorists on the A12 between the M25 and the A414/A12 junction; and what is the distance between the M25 and the A414/A12 junction.

Annual percentage change
Fares Retail Price Index
London Bus London Underground NSE
1979 13.7 14.7 9.6 13.4
1980 38.1 35.3 22.3 18.0
1981 6.6 2.9 18.3 11.9
1982 24.1 26.0 8.5 8.6
1983 1.9 4.4 7.4 4.6
1984 -8.4 -13.4 6.7 5.0
1985 9.1 7.7 7.2 6.1
1986 7.0 5.9 7.5 3.4
1987 3.0 5.3 5.0 4.1
1988 10.5 9.5 6.2 4.9
1989 11.8 12.6 9.2 7.8
1990 8.5 9.6 8.6 9.5
1991 10.9 11.2 10.8 5.9
1992 7.6 7.8 7.6 3.7