Archived press release

Newbury Bypass rejected by National Opinion Survey

20 March 1996

The first national opinion survey on the Newbury Bypass has found that only one quarter of people interviewed believed that the Government should continue with work on the controversial road. In the Meridian TV region - which includes Newbury - more people want the government to stop work now and implement alternatives to Newbury's traffic problems than want work on the bypass to continue. This finding contrasts with a recent self-selecting telephone survey conducted by Meridian TV which claimed to find local opinion heavily in favour of the road.

The national survey, conducted for Friends of the Earth by Survey Research Associates (SRA) [1] reveals that 82 per cent of those questioned[2] had heard something about the Newbury Bypass, and of those:

61 per cent (50 % of the total survey, including those who hadn't heard of the bypass) thought that the government should have tried alternative methods of dealing with Newbury's traffic problems before starting work on the bypass. 21 per cent (17 per cent) disagreed.

53 per cent (43 per cent) want the government to stop work on the bypass now and try alternative solutions instead. 31 per cent (25 per cent) disagreed.

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

"The survey results make it all the more remarkable the that no leading politician is speaking out against the road. Most people who know about the Newbury bypass are against it, but very few of our democratically elected representatives are reflecting that view. If this is democracy, it is no wonder that people have taken to climbing trees to have their voices heard. In the run up to a general election, all parties should take stock of their sensitivity to people's opinions".

SRA interviewed 1539 people including 212 in the Meridian TV region,which includes Newbury. 89 per cent (190 people) said they were aware of the Newbury bypass, and of those:

58 per cent thought the government should have tried alternative methods of solving Newbury's traffic problems before building the bypass, whereas 25 per cent disagreed.

45 per cent thought that the government should stop work on the bypass now and implement alternatives. 40 per cent disagreed.

ENDS

NOTES TO EDITORS:

[1] The survey was carried out by Survey Research Associates (part of the NOP group) for Friends of the Earth. 1539 people took part in face to face interviews throughout the country between 8-9 March 1996. A full breakdown of the survey results is available from Friends of the Earth(please call Press Office).

[2] Three questions were asked. They were:

Have you seen or heard anything on TV, radio, in newspapers or from friends about the Newbury bypass?

Should the Government have tried other ways of solving Newbury's traffic problems such as better public transport, freight on rail and traffic management schemes (eg park and ride schemes/priority bus junctions)before starting work on the Newbury bypass?

Contracts to build the Newbury bypass have still not been signed. Should the Government stop work on the bypass and try some other solutions which I have just read out to tackle Newbury's traffic problems before they sign?

If you're a journalist looking for press information please contact the Friends of the Earth media team on 020 7566 1649.

Published by Friends of the Earth Trust