HC Deb 18 April 2000 vol 348 cc456-7W
Mr. Moore

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions (1) if he will list the(a) deferred road schemes by authority featured in the Local Transport Settlement for 2000–01 and (b) road schemes contained in the provisional local transport plans for 2001–02 to 2004–05; [119716]

(2) if he will ensure that road schemes costing more than £5 million contained in full local transport plans will not be accepted by the Government unless there is clear evidence that alternative solutions to traffic problems have been considered first, along with a statement of why such solutions have been rejected. [119717]

Mr. Hill

A decision to defer consideration of the following major road schemes until the Full Local Transport Plans are received this year was announced last December in the Provisional Local Transport Settlement for 2000–01:

Area Scheme
Barnsley Cudworth Bypass
Birmingham Northfield Regeneration
Birmingham Selly Oak Access Road
Bristol A4 Bath Road to Callington Road Link
Cheshire A34 Alderley Edge Environmental Bypass
Cumbria Carlisle Northern Development Route
Darlington Darlington Cross Town Route Eastern Section
Derby Derby Spur Extension
Derbyshire Markham Employment Growth Zone
Devon Barnstaple Western Bypass
Dorset Weymouth Transportation and Regeneration Project
East Sussex Newhaven Port Access Road
Kent East Kent Access (Phase 1)
Kent East Kent Access (Phase 2)
Leeds East Leeds Link Road
Leeds Leeds Inner Ring Road (Stage 7)
Lincolnshire Future Major Economic Regeneration Scheme
Liverpool Hall Lane Area Improvement
Medway A228 Chattenden to Ropers Lane
Middlesbrough East Middlesbrough Transport Corridor
North East Lincolnshire South Humber Bank Link Road (Stage 2)
Rotherham West Bawtry Road Improvement
Rutland Oakham/(Langham) Bypass
Sandwell Cradley Heath Town Centre Strategy (A4100)
Sheffield Inner Relief Road—Stages II and III
Staffordshire Biddulph Bypass
Staffordshire Rugeley Eastern Bypass Stage 2
Stoke-on-Trent Hanley Bentilee Link
Suffolk South Lowestoft Relief Road
Surrey A244 Cross Thames Transport Corridor
Wiltshire Western Wiltshire Regeneration Corridor
Wirral Birkenhead Town Link Division
Worcestershire Wyre Piddle Bypass

The following decisions were reached on the remaining major road schemes contained in the Provisional Local Transport Plans:

Area Scheme
Accepted:
Essex A131 Great Leighs Bypass
Leicestershire Ashby Bypass Stage 2
Norfolk Broome and Ellingham Bypass
Nottingham (G.N.) A6002/A6007 Coventry Lane Improvement
Shropshire A53 Hodnet Bypass
Somerset Bridgewater Northern Distributor
Staffordshire Burntwood Bypass
Stockton-on-Tees South Stockton Link
Provisionally accepted:
Barnsley Coalfields Link Road Phases 2 and 3
Bedfordshire A507 Ridgmont Bypass and Woburn Link
Bedfordshire Bedford Western Bypass
Buckinghamshire A4146 Stoke Hammond and Linsdale Western Bypass
Cambridgeshire A142 Fordham Bypass
Doncaster A6023 Denaby Main Division
Hertfordshire Baldock Bypass
Manchester, Salford Manchester/Salford Inner Relief Road (Regent Road/Gore Street)
North Yorkshire Scarborough Integrated Transport Scheme
Nottinghamshire A617 Mansfield Ashfield Regeneration Route
Suffolk Stowmarket BI115 Relief Road
Rejected:
Birmingham Dudley Road Traffic Management Phase 2
Cornwall Grampound Bypass
East Sussex Bexhill and Hastings Link Road
Norfolk Great Yarmouth A47/A149 Link Road
Reading Cow Lane Bridges/Oxford Road Relief Road
Rotherham A57(T) Todwick Crossroads to M1 J31
Stoke-on-Trent Tunstall Northern Bypass
Stoke-on-Trent City Centre Link
Warwickshire Barford Bypass
West Sussex Angmering Bypass

The "Guidance on Full Local Transport Plans" which was published in March of this year makes it clear that before major road schemes can be accepted for funding if bid for in the Full Local Transport Plans, local authorities will need to demonstrate that there is a problem that needs addressing and that they have looked for alternative solutions, in accordance with the principles of New Approach to Appraisal.