Weston-super-Mare MP John Penrose expressed his concerns today over the decision by government-appointed planners to abandon the ‘second strategic route’ from London to the South West which would have eased pressure on the M5 and helped reduce congestion on Junction 21.

The ‘second strategic route’, classed as a “prime requirement” for the region in the Draft Regional Spatial Strategy (RSS), would have widened the A303 to dual carriageway (including a tunnel past Stonehenge), removing a series of bottlenecks between the M3 and the southwest. It was intended to ease congestion on the current main route to the South West, the M4 and M5 motorways, which would in turn have benefited users of Junction 21 of the M5.

However, the route has now been abandoned by government-appointed planners who have recommended that it “should be replaced and the reference deleted”.

In a letter written to Peter Brown, Director of Planning and Policy at the South West Regional Assembly, Mr Penrose questioned this decision and asked what the effect on congestion at J21 will be. He has asked what measures, if any, have been proposed to replace the abandoned scheme and reminded Mr Brown of his submission to the RSS in October 2005 where he suggested they should consider opening the M5's hard shoulder as an extra lane during peak congestion hours.

John Penrose said: “Dropping the A303 scheme will have knock-on effects all along the M5, including here in Weston. 20,000 local people currently commute from Weston to Bristol every day, a large proportion of them on the M5, and while this plan would not have solved all the problems of Junction 21, it would have helped to ease the congestion.

“Now the Government wants to drop the scheme, Weston needs alternatives instead. Ministers can't just ignore the problem because it won't go away. I’ve suggested they look at using the hard shoulder on the M5 as an extra lane at peak periods, but there may be other answers too. Either way, doing nothing is not an acceptable answer. Local people are already suffering with jams and congestion, and the problems will only get worse unless something is done.”