Catherine Early,
Planning,
11 January 2008
The public inquiry into the proposed Mottram-Tintwistle bypass in the Peak District national park has been adjourned indefinitely, it has emerged.
The Highways Agency has admitted that some evidence and the
environmental statement would have to be revised after errors were
discovered (Planning, 7 December 2007, p3).
Before Christmas, the agency was due to give the inspector a date for
when this work would be done. However, it has now conceded that while it
hoped the figures would be ready in February it may take longer.
Tameside Metropolitan Borough Council, which is promoting a spur road
alongside the bypass, will also have to revise its evidence. The
inspector does not now expect the inquiry to resume before May.
The Highways Agency has spent nearly £14 million on the scheme
since 2004, £4 million of this on the inquiry according to figures
released under the Freedom of Information Act. The agency does not yet
know the costs for correcting the errors, but is investigating who might
be held accountable for the mistakes that have been made.
Campaign for Better Transport roads and climate spokeswoman Rebecca Lush
Blum called the situation embarrassing. "It is time that the inquiry was
abandoned and low-cost safety measures implemented immediately on the
A628," she said.
A Highways Agency spokesman apologised for the delay but said it is
vital to provide accurate information to the inquiry.
