| Previous Section | Index | Home Page |
Mr. Jonathan Shaw (Chatham and Aylesford): I congratulate my hon. Friend on securing this Adjournment debate. The second crossing over the Swale is not only important for the good people of the Isle of Sheppey; it is essential for the regeneration of my constituency, the Medway towns and further afield, right down the Thames gateway area. That is reflected in the early-day motion tabled today by Kent and London Members of the Thames gateway group. Does my hon. Friend agree that the crossing is essential not just for Sheppey, but for the wider area of Kent and east London?
Mr. Wyatt: I thank my hon. Friend, and of course I agree with him. One of the problems is that we are running out of space on the mainland of Sittingbourne to develop new factories. We have space on Sheppey, but we have no bridge that works.
The Minister for London and Construction (Mr. Nick Raynsford): I congratulate my hon. Friend the Member for Sittingbourne and Sheppey (Mr. Wyatt) on his success in securing the debate. I appreciate that the matter is important not just for him, but for all the people of north-east Kent, those who live and work on the Isle of Sheppey, and, as my hon. Friend the Member for Chatham and Aylesford (Mr. Shaw) emphasised, others who live in the Medway area.
My hon. Friend the Member for Sittingbourne and Sheppey made a powerful case for a second Swale crossing. As he knows, the Government have embarked on a fundamental review of transport policy. The case for this scheme must be considered in the context of that review. Our objectives are a strong economy, a sustainable environment and an inclusive society. Transport links are a vital part of those aims.
Good communications, including transport links, are central to the economy and quality of life. However, the backdrop to the fundamental review is a candid recognition that we need a shift in direction. Revised national road traffic forecasts published last autumn show traffic increasing by almost 40 per cent. over the next 20 years. If current policies continue, congestion will get worse, the impact on the environment will be even more severe, and those who have no access to private transport will be even more disadvantaged.
Therefore, we must develop an integrated transport system that makes the best use of the contribution that each transport mode can make, and ensures that all options are considered on a basis that takes into account from the outset considerations of accessibility, integration, safety, the environment and the economy--factors which my hon. Friend highlighted, because he has taken account of our review, and he knows that those are the criteria by which schemes are being assessed.
Above all, an integrated transport system must be sustainable. One of the encouraging aspects of what is an ambitious task is the degree of consensus on the need for change. We cannot achieve that in isolation, and we are actively engaging those involved in transport. It is a feature of the policy development work now under way that we are involving a wide range of external advice and expertise, including local authorities, businesses, trade unions, transport professionals and transport users. That is the context for the roads review--examining the role that trunk roads should play in an integrated and sustainable transport policy.
My right hon. Friend the Deputy Prime Minister returned from the successful Kyoto summit at the end of last year with a legally binding target for the European Union to reduce greenhouse gases by 8 per cent. The United Kingdom contribution towards this target, which has to be determined by the spring or the summer, is likely to be above the average, but, for CO 2 emissions, it is still likely to be somewhat lower than the domestic 20 per cent. reduction aim.
To meet that target, measures will need to be taken in all sectors of the economy. Under unchanged policies, emissions from transport are projected to rise at a faster rate than any other sector. The Government have signalled their intention to tackle the growth of emissions from the transport sector. A number of measures to reduce
CO 2 emissions from transport, in addition to the fuel duty strategy, are being considered as part of the integrated transport policy review.
Against that background, and the background of increased congestion, we have three broad options for roads: first, to make better use of existing infrastructure; secondly, to manage demand; and, thirdly, to provide new infrastructure. I shall briefly cover those options.
The first option is to make the best use of the existing road network. It is the obvious first choice to make best use of existing infrastructure. It has been provided at substantial cost, and we must optimise that investment. Technologies old and new can help us to make better use of our roads network. They include variable speed limits on, for example, sections of the M5, variable message signs to guide motorists away from congested areas, and the dedicated bus lane on the M4 to Heathrow airport. Those are examples, and I readily accept that none of those options would tackle the problem that my hon. Friend has rightly identified--the difficulty with a bridge that opens, but does not always close, on the link to Sheppey.
Some of the measures to which I have referred may also bring safety benefits, and we shall need to ensure that those are given proper priority. However, we need to be realistic about the benefits that the various options can bring. I hope that I have made it clear that I recognise their limitations in relation to the circumstances of the case that my hon. Friend has raised.
The second option is managing demand, to which we must give serious consideration. Managing demand encompasses reducing the need to travel, by land use planning--for example, an assessment of the extent to which a shift to other modes can be encouraged--and, inevitably, the question of controlling demand by pricing or rationing mechanisms. At a local level, many local authorities are exploring, by means of integrated transport packages, how to combine those measures so that mobility is maintained, but the adverse environmental consequences of that mobility are reduced.
The third option is providing new infrastructure. The Highways Agency's programme of small safety schemes is continuing, but all major new construction is under review. Providing new infrastructure is a difficult option, financially and in terms of the impact that it may have on the environment. Our starting point is that we shall not proceed with major new road construction unless we are satisfied that there is no better alternative; even then, there will be difficult choices to be made within the limited resources available.
There is no substitute for a rigorous case-by-case examination of the options. The second volume of the roads review consultation document, which we published last year, sets out, region by region, the perceived traffic problems and the roads programme inherited from our predecessors. We are carefully examining all the responses, and we expect to publish the outcome of the review later this year.
The existence of a scheme in the inherited programme is seen as prima facie evidence that there is a transport problem. We sought from our regional consultations a view on whether those are the most important problems or whether others deserve greater priority. We envisage two outputs from this part of the review: first, a firm short-term investment programme and, secondly,
a programme of studies to consider the remaining problems out of which the medium and long-term investment programmes will emerge.
As my hon. Friend rightly said, the A249 trunk road provides the only road link between the Kent mainland and the Isle of Sheppey, with its important deep-water port at Sheerness. The single-carriageway road is heavily trafficked, and the Swale has to be crossed on the lifting road-rail Kingsferry bridge, which is raised to shipping several times a day. Long queues often form, and traffic can be delayed, which is of considerable concern for a variety of reasons. Individuals are inconvenienced and, as my hon. Friend has suggested, investors may be deterred from investing because of concern about congestion. The emergency services and the region's national health trust, whose nearest accident and emergency hospital is located off the isle, are also concerned.
The prospects for Sheppey's commercial and industrial development are significantly hampered by the current poor access arrangements for the isle. The Government recognise that.
The second Swale crossing scheme has been proposed to improve the reliability of access to and from the isle for the benefit of local residents and businesses, and to provide a second emergency access. The scheme would provide a fixed-bridge crossing with a 29 m clearance for shipping. It would improve a 5 km section of the trunk road route up to Queenborough. I note that implementing the scheme would complete the programme of improvements from the M2 to the port of Sheerness. My hon. Friend rightly said that the rest of the programme had been put in place, but that that crucial element had been left behind by the previous Government.
The Swale and surrounding areas are recognised nationally and internationally as important sites for birds and their habitats. My hon. Friend has rightly and fairly mentioned the potential environmental difficulties that might arise from the proposed scheme. Great care will need to be taken to minimise the impact of the scheme on these important ecological sites. The project will allow intended developments such as the Thames gateway project to help to generate employment, enhancing the commercial prospects of the isle. The cost of the scheme
is estimated at £79 million, which includes the cost of preparing and supervising the project, but excludes value added tax.
The Government office for the south east held three day-long seminars last autumn as part of our consultation process on integrated transport. A seminar in Ashford on 14 October considered transport corridors in the east of the region, including links with Sheppey.
Strong representations were made in support of the second Swale crossing scheme, and there was a clear consensus among delegates that the scheme should be given high priority. That view has also been strongly reflected in the written contributions that we have received about the scheme. My hon. Friend has been diligent in pressing the case for the scheme, and has been in regular correspondence with my noble Friend Baroness Hayman, who is responsible for roads policy within the Department.
I recognise the importance of a second Swale crossing scheme for the local community, and I take this opportunity to assure my hon. Friend that we shall be taking all these views, as well as the points that he and others have made, fully into account in the current review.
Developing a forward-looking integrated transport policy that supports a strong economy, contributes to a sustainable environment and helps to create a just and inclusive society is a huge challenge. Through the work now under way on trunk roads, we want to achieve a robust short-term programme and a system for planning future investment in the road network--whether by measures to make better use of the existing network, or by providing new infrastructure--that is fair and seen to be fair, and which addresses transport problems squarely in the context of an integrated strategy.
I am grateful to my hon. Friend for bringing these important transport issues to the attention of the House. I know that he has been consistent in his advocacy of the proposed second Swale crossing, and I am sure that he will continue to press the case for this project in the months ahead. However, I am sure that he will also appreciate that, until we have completed our review, we cannot say what conclusions we shall reach on the proposed Swale crossing.
Question put and agreed to.
2 Apr 1998 : Column 1481Adjourned accordingly at twelve minutes to Eight o'clock.
| Index | Home Page |