§ Mr. William RossTo ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what studies he has carried out of the consequences of bypasses of towns and villages in Northern Ireland with particular reference to the economic impact and changes in the quality of the environment. [21394]
§ Mr. MossResponsibility for this subject has been delegated to the Roads Service under its chief executive, Mr. W. J. McCoubrey. I have asked him to arrange for a reply to be given.
Letter from G. P. Fraser to Mr. William Ross, dated 19 March 1997:
The Secretary of State for Northern Ireland has asked the Chief Executive to reply to your recently tabled PQ about studies carried out on the consequences arising from the provision of by-passes and towns and villages and in his absence I am replying on his behalf.All major by-pass proposals are subjected to a rigorous cost benefit analysis and environmental impact assessment before they are added to the major roadworks programme. The cost benefit analysis takes account of many factors including cost, traffic volumes, journey time savings, road safety, economic benefits and the benefits or otherwise for other parts of the road network, while the environmental impact assessment considers the affect of the scheme on the surrounding environment and the likely reduction in levels of traffic pollution arising from reduced congestion.Whilst traffic studies are carried out after completion of projects to check the accuracy of the appraisal projections, the Department has not carried out particular studies in Northern Ireland to measure wider economic or environmental changes to by-passed towns or villages.I hope you find this information helpful.