Statement about the proposed Heysham M6 Link Road promoted by the Lancashire County Council

Professor John Whitelegg BA PhD LLB, February 2012

John Whitelegg has worked on sustainable transport projects for over 30 years and authored, co-authored and edited numerous books, reports and academic papers. He currently runs his own consultancy practice, Eco-Logica Ltd.

I would like to register my objection to this proposed road and my request to appear before any examination or discussion of the project before the IPC or its successor body.

My objection is based on three grounds:

It is contrary to the principles of sustainable development and these principles are central to the UK planning process e.g. section 10 (3) a of the Planning Act, 2008. The road will generate new traffic, will add to the number of car journeys for short trips and will generate extra greenhouse gas emissions. At a time of legally binding obligations to reduce greenhouse gas emissions it is perverse to spend public funds on a project that will add to them when alternatives are available that will reduce them

The proposal is contrary to the transport appraisal process described in WebTag and intended to guide transport infrastructure decision taking through clear stages of problem definition, option identification and selection of preferred option. The whole HM6L process has flouted this guidance

The HM6L if built will not do what the promoter says it will do. There is detailed evidence available on congestion and traffic flow and it is clear the road will not solve congestion problems. There is detailed evidence available on regeneration and job creation and the road will not create the jobs that are claimed for it by the promoter. There is detailed evidence available on HGV movement to the port of Heysham and the road will not remove the number of HGVs from the existing highway system claimed by the promoter

I would like to appear at a public examination and explain these points and produce evidence in support of these points