§ Mr. RendelTo ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to his answer of 19 December,Official Report, column 874–75, to the hon. Member for Derbyshire, South (Mrs. Currie) what was the date of his private visit to Newbury; how long he spent on his visit; what he saw; what other options he has asked the Highways Agency to explore; and which of the requested options has not been already considered.
§ Dr. MawhinneyI visited the Newbury area on 28 November 1994 for about three hours travelling on the A34 from the north and south through the centre of Newbury. I also visited a number of sites to the west of the town to view parts of the published bypass route, as part of my consideration of the proposal. I have asked the Highways Agency to review the options to relieve congestion in Newbury as a matter of urgency.
§ Mr. RendelTo ask the Secretary of State for Transport what was the cost of the 1988 inspector's inquiry into the route of the A34 Newbury bypass; and how many man hours of(a) the inspector's and (b) other officials' time were involved.
§ Dr. MawhinneyThe recorded costs of the 1988 A34 Newbury bypass public inquiry total about £140,000. This sum includes the cost of the inspector, his traffic assessor, the Department's counsel and the physical arrangements for the inquiry but excludes salary costs of others preparing for and attending the inquiry for which records are not available.
The inspector and his assessor spent about 1,230 and 640 hours respectively in connection with the inquiry. The number of hours spent by other officials preparing for and attending the inquiry have not been recorded.