§ Mr. DafisTo ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will place in the Library the tendering documents for the construction contract for the A34 Newbury bypass. [25184]
505W
§ Mr. DafisTo ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to his answer of 1 February,Official Report, column 843, (1) if he will break down the costs of construction of the A34 Newbury bypass to indicate the cost of (a) the advance clearance contract, (b) the construction contract, (c) security during advance clearance and construction and (d) the enforcement by the under-sheriff of the various court orders for possession; [25340]
(2) if he will make it his policy not to enter into a construction contract for the A34 Newbury bypass until the Department of the Environment has completed its public consultation on a special area of conservation to protect the terrestrial pulmonate snail Vertigo Moulinisiana. [25338]
§ Mr. Watts[holding answer 16 April 1996]: I have asked the chief executive of the Highways Agency to write to the hon. Member.
Letter from Lawrie Haynes to Mr. Cynog Dafis, dated 17 April 1996:
As you know, the Secretary of State for Transport has asked me to reply to your Parliamentary Questions about the costs of construction of the A34 Newbury Bypass and the timing of the award of the main works contract.At the time of award, the value of the contract for the site clearance was £1.684M. Although most of the work is complete, the contract is still extant and the final cost has yet to be determined.The cost of the security for the clearance work is likely to be in the order of £6M. This will cover the costs of the security firm hired by the clearance contractor and the costs incurred by the Under Sheriff in enforcing the eviction orders.Much of the work involved overlaps the clearance contract and the enforcement work. For instance, the cost of felling the trees increased because it was necessary first to trim a tree before evicting the protestors to allow the tree to be felled, rather than simply felling the tree in one go. We cannot therefore disaggregate the costs.We are still assessing the tenders for the main works contract so I cannot say what the costs of those works, and any associated security costs, will be.It is too soon to say when we will award the contract for the main works, or to speculate on whether any part of the area qualifies for designation as an SAC. English Nature will advise the Government on the latter on the basis of further survey work we and they have commissioned in respect of Vertigo Moulinsiana.
§ Mr. DafisTo ask the Secretary of State for Transport when he plans to enter into the construction contract for the A34 Newbury bypass. [25183]
§ Mr. Watts[holding answer 16 April 1996:]: It is too early to say when the contract will be awarded.