Submission to the Public Inquiry into
the proposed revocation of the 1993 Orders relating to the A435
Studley By Pass and its link roads.
In the early 90’s
plans for the long Western By Pass were developed with the backing
of the then government. Orders were drawn up to
allow the scheme to move forward and the Highways Agency bought up
properties that fell on the proposed route.
However
circumstances were changing. The nearby M40 was
completed, running parallel to the A435 and the then Conservative
government was reconsidering its roads programme in the face of
public spending constraints and growing concerns about congestion
and pollution linked to new road building. In
1996 the Studley By Pass was dropped from the government’s list of
approved projects.
Since then
I cannot recall any indication by any government that this scheme
is more likely to be supported by them. On the
contrary, in 1998 the West Midlands Government Office said that the
A435 is “not a core route and not a regionally strategic
priority.” The Highways Agency is proposing to
“de-trunk” the A435 in line with this assessment and this inquiry
is testament to the decision by government that a new solution for
the congestion in Studley is required.
Why
is the Western By Pass still an
issue?
Warwickshire
County Council have been attempting, since around 2000, to
resurrect a by pass scheme based along the original
route. I suspect they thought that they might
secure funding from a new government with a track record of
investing in public works and that they might avoid new, extensive
planning processes. However, the reality is that
the Labour government has proved no more likely to fund this scheme
than anyone else. In addition, their hopes of a
simple “off the shelf” solution being accepted without challenge
from local residents have been dashed. I can
understand why Warwickshire has been trying to get central
government to pay for a scheme that they could then proceed with
quickly but whilst they cling to this forlorn hope my constituents
continue to suffer blight that should have been lifted years
ago. Furthermore, the prospects of a practical
and economically viable solution for Studley have been
delayed.
There
is little public support for this extensive route to be
developed.
Warwickshire County Council initiated a
consultation process into their latest proposals in
2000. In fact, until I intervened no meetings or
displays were to be held in Redditch on
the proposed schemes even though several of the proposals passed
through the Redditch road network or
connected to it.
The options
- for which there had been a full evaluation - that were put up for
consideration by the public excluded “option 9”, a simple, short by
pass to the east of Studley. This was despite
the report comments from Halcrow, consultants to Warwickshire
County Council that option 9 “would provide good relief to Studley
and a good financial rate of return”
Since
the consultation meetings in Redditch the
public in my constituency have become much more involved in the
issue. I have received a petition from
over 1500 constituents opposing the Western By Pass route and 2,600
letters have been sent supporting the move to revoke the original
Orders.
It is my
contention that not only is there no prospect of government support
for the Western by pass there is little public support
either. Further, if Option 9 had been properly
considered then a remedy to congestion in Studley would be much
nearer than it is now and the Revocation Orders could have been
secured without significant opposition.
Its
time to end the blight on hundreds of
Redditch
families!
Revocation
Orders for the A435 scheme have been delayed for
years. Hundreds of families in
Redditch have suffered blight over their homes
and for what? The hope, by Warwickshire County
Council and its partners, that the government will stump up for
this grandiose scheme. The Highways Agency is
right, the A435 is not a strategically important road, it is a road
that should facilitate local journeys and not provide motorway
traffic a high-speed alternative at the expense of local
communities.
Sir
George Young MP, the Conservative Secretary of State for Transport
in 1996 said the following in his letter announcing the withdrawal
of government support for this and other
schemes: “Rather than continue to
maintain schemes that have little chance of coming to fruition
within a reasonable timescale, I have decided to remove uncertainty
and the damaging effect of blight on individuals and neighbourhoods
by withdrawing most of these
schemes.”
Now seven years
later and with no change of government policy it is time to
complete the process and remove that blight.
Thank you for considering
this submission.
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