Archived press release

Newbury Bypass - Delayed

17 August 1995

It has been revealed today that construction of the controversial A34 Newbury Bypass isto be delayed again. The contract tendering process suspended in December 1994 is to be reopened and not, as expected, awarded immediately. It was thought that Costain would be offered the 77 million scheme after the July decision by outgoing Transport Secretary, Dr Brian Mawhinney, to go ahead "speedily" with the road just seven months into the one year review'.

The premature end of the review, with the expectation that contracts would be concluded quickly, was met with dismay by local and national campaigners working to show how Newbury's traffic problems could be met without building the Bypass.

It is expected that road construction will not now start for at least six months. This means that a complaint expected from the European Commission [1] will be delivered before construction starts and that Treasury efforts to cut down the Roads Programme may result in the scheme being scrapped altogether. The decision to retender does in any event allow further research at the local level to identify alternative approaches to traffic problems in the area [2].

Tony Juniper, Campaigns Director at Friends of the Earth, said:

"This is very welcome news indeed. Although the road is not yet dead, it will allow the European Commission to formally follow up its concerns with the Government before construction begins. It will also mean that we can publish our research into alternative options before the road becomes unstoppable".

ENDS

NOTES TO EDITORS:

[1] In October 1994, the European Commission informally contacted the British Government in respect of possible breaches of three European Union directives through the proposed construction of the Bypass. The Commission has confirmed that its concerns in relation to a breach of the Environmental Impact Assessment directive in particular remain active and that an Article 169 letter (the start of formal infringement proceedings) will probably be issued in September.

[2] The Metropolitan Transport Research Unit has been commission by Friends of the Earth to examine alternative solutions to Newbury's traffic problems.

The remit of Friends of the Earth's consultants is:

To examine existing and predicted future traffic on the A34 through Newbury and the surrounding road network;

To design a package of policies and practical measures to alleviate the traffic problems of Newbury;

The package of measures will be developed in close consultation with both national and local groups. It will be built on local knowledge, and will be consistent with existing policies and knowledge, including current changes in the Government's transport policies. It will take account of both the short and longer-term. The solutions must be environmentally sensitive, and should set a framework for a long-term sustainable transport and planning strategy in the Newbury area.

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Published by Friends of the Earth Trust