§ Mr. McLoughlinTo ask the Secretary of State for Transport (1) how much money has been expended on the Stoke-Derby link road to date; and when he expects it to be completed;
(2) how much money has been spent on the public inquiries that have been held in to the whole route for the Stoke-Derby link road;
(3) what assessment he has made as to whether the Doveridge bypass is necessary to complete the Stoke-Derby link road;
(4) if the Stoke-Derby link road forms an integral part of the roads programme;
(5) how much money has been spent in the preparation for the Doveridge bypass as part of the Stoke-Derby link road.
§ Mr. WattsSchemes forming the Stoke-Derby link road, including Doveridge bypass, are an important part of the roads programme and we intend to complete the link road as funds permit. To date, £110.4 million, excluding VAT and land compensation payments, has been spent on preparing and building the link road. It is not possible to disaggregate the cost of public inquiries included in that total without disproportionate effort; but of the total, £3.5 million excluding VAT has so far been spent in preparing Doveridge bypass for construction. We are giving urgent consideration to the possibility of taking forward the Doveridge bypass as a design, build, finance and operate scheme.