Archived press release

Councils warned transport plan is "unlawful"

21 March 2006

Four Councils in the West of England are being warned that their Joint Local Transport Plan (JLTP), which includes the controversial South Bristol Ring Road, could break environmental law.

The plan is due to be adopted this month but legal advisors for Friends of the Earth have contacted the unitary authorities of Bath & North East Somerset, Bristol, North Somerset and South Gloucestershire to warn that the plan must be accompanied by an appropriate environmental report, and involve public consultation before it can be adopted.

The councils have already said they will not publish their environmental report until after they adopt the plan.

Friends of the Earth believes the Plan has been radically altered since an environmental assessment was carried out by the addition of the proposed South Bristol Ring Road.

Friends of the Earth's South West Campaigns Coordinator, Mike Birkin, said,

"By keeping this crucial report under wraps, and trying to push through the controversial and hugely damaging South Bristol Ring Road without proper assessment, the councils are showing contempt for the communities of South Bristol, who must be given a fair say, and disregard for the environment.

"But our lawyers believe that what the councils are doing is not only unfair and undemocratic - it's unlawful as well."

Phil Michaels, Head of Legal, Friends of the Earth's Rights & Justice Centre said:

"The whole purpose of these laws is to make sure that decision makers have taken all relevant information into account before they press ahead with decisions which will have a major impact on people living in the area and their environment. In this case the councils haven't even seen the information but are already giving the green light to the plan."

Notes

The letter from Friends of the Earth's Rights & Justice Centre raises "serious concerns that adoption [of the JLTP] would be unlawful as contrary to the requirements of the Environmental Assessment of Plans and Programmes Regulations 2004 (`the SEA Regulations'). The full text of the letter can be supplied on request. Friends of the Earth's Rights & Justice Centre is now awaiting a written reply from each of the four councils.

Under the Strategic Environmental Assessment Regulations, which became law in 2004, all plans must be accompanied by an environmental report, and the public must be consulted on them, before any plan can be adopted.

The Joint Local Transport Plan has been developed by the four unitary authorities of Bath & North East Somerset, Bristol, North Somerset and South Gloucestershire.

Schedule:

The Joint Local Transport Plan is due to be submitted to the Secretary of State for Transport by March 31 and is the basis for Government funding for transport schemes in the area.

Bristol City Council and North Somerset Council is due to adopt the plan formally at full council meetings of 21 March

South Gloucestershire Council is due to adopt the plan formally at the full council meeting 22 March.

Bath & North East Somerset Council is due to adopt the plan formally at the full council meeting on Thursday 30 March.

Joint Local Transport Plan:

The Joint Local Transport Plan has been prepared jointly with the adjoining authorities of the West of England. It is a statutory document setting out the Councils' objectives and proposed programme for transport over the next five years in the context of the sub-region's longer term vision of continued expansion of the economy and associated physical growth. It also includes objectives and targets against which success will be measured and which will inform the transport capital and revenue programmes of the Council.

The format of the document is in accordance with government guidance. It addresses the shared priorities for transport of:

• Tackling congestion
• Road Safety
• Air Quality
• Accessibility, informed by new national guidance

It also includes the approach to transport asset management and the targets against which performance in all areas will be measured.

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Published by Friends of the Earth Trust