§ Dr. MurrisonTo ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will make a statement on the reasons for the delay in completing the Bristol/Bath to South Coast Study; and what estimate he has made of the likely completion date.[145226]
§ Mr. McNultyThe study, which was commissioned to address the concerns of Bath and North East Somerset Council and the South West Regional Assembly over the proposed de-trunking of the A36/A46, has been further delayed because it has taken longer than anticipated for the consultants to complete the modelling and firm up their conclusions. It is now anticipated that the revised Final Reports will be cleared by the Steering Group by late January 2004. Once approved, they will be submitted to the South West Regional Assembly for comment and possibly additional brief consultation with their partners, in particular regarding the de-trunking issue which gave rise to the study being commissioned.
Following receipt of the study report and comments from the Regional Assembly, I will be in a position to make a response.