HC Deb 29 March 1994 vol 240 cc719-20W
Mr. Harvey

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what assessment he has made of published research into the role of road construction in stimulating economic regeneration in the areas concerned.

Mr. Key

The conclusion to be drawn from published research is that in general there is no clear evidence for specific regeneration effects. The main likely reasons for this are that local or regional economic problems are varied and seldom specifically related to lack of adequate access by road, that road improvements help traffic in both directions, and therefore can help importers to a region as much as exporters from it, and that labour employed on road improvements does not necessarily come from the immediate area. However, road schemes taken forward by the Department of Transport or by local authorities with Department of Transport assistance show healthy economic benefits, principally from time and cost savings to local and through traffic. Their planning takes into account any appropriate regeneration or economic development measures that are proposed for the areas affected.