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Green tinge ti roads White Paper
Page 6
Page 7
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• Transport Secretary Cecil Parkinson has denied claims that he is "going slow" on the Government's 213 billion road construction programme — but he has attempted to give his longterm expansion plans a new Green image.
In his latest trunk road programme, unveiled in a Parliamentary White Paper on Tuesday, Parkinson made much of the environmental safeguards it includes, such as a crackdown on noise and pollution, and improvements in highway design.
The previous day Parkinson announced the appointment of Professor Brian Hoskins as a part-time environmental adviser, and it was rumoured that he had changed his mind on the 10-year 213-billion road building programme he announced last year.
In fact he is still pressing ahead with the expanded road
programme. According to Tuesday's White Paper Trunk roads, England — into the 1990s, 20 new schemes have been added to the existing programme including widening of motorways, and improvements to the A2, A3, Al2, A30, A31, A40 and A66.
However, in a statement issued with the White Paper, Parkinson said: "My aim is to achieve a balance between the various forms of transport so that each of them can make its proper contribution to a safer, more environment-friendly and more efficient transport system."
Environmental measures include the appointment of consultants to advise on landscaping and the environmental impact of the motorway widening and trunk road construction schemes.
A "best practice" manual for environmental design will be produced and there will be a massive increase in tree planting alongside motorway and trunk road routes.
Parkinson will also increase the grant to English Heritage by £500,000 and will ensure that environmental improve 1 rnents apply to existing as well as new roads. He said that trunk roads have a key part to play because they carry such a high level of traffic, especially long distance and heavy commercial vehicles serving British industry. "The nation wants a national roads system which meets these expectations and the Government aims to provide it," said Parkinson. Over 500 schemes covering more than 4,000km of road are in preparation.
A total of 45 major roads schemes costing nearly £i billion were under construction at the start of this year, and an estimated £2.5 billion of motorway and trunk road schemes are planned or under construction. New schemes that have been added to the programme include the widening of the M2 between junctions 3 and 4 and the widening of the M4 between junctions 12 and 15.
Both the RHA and the FTA have described the White Paper as a welcome attack on industry's congestion blackspots. But they want streamlined planning procedures to speed up road schemes.