We are concerned about the implications of the proposed Dual
Three lane
A21 Pembury to Tonbridge linking section of Trunk Road. This is part of
a programme of building new sections of trunk road between London and
Robertsbridge,
and would be the only 6 lane section, creating bottle necks. What
people
express to us as councillors is their need for regular buses. To call
the
proposal an improvement as the Department of Transport (DTp) do is more
than slightly inaccurate as destruction of the natural environment is
involved.
This road does nothing to reduce predicted traffic flows. The DTp
predicts
that traffic will initially drop on the A26 then increase again through
Southborough and Tunbridge Wells. The DTp use the drop to justify the
road.
More traffic will be brought in to Tunbridge Wells on both the A264
Pembury
Road, and Longfield Road presumably then through residential areas of
Sherwood,
Upper Grosvenor Road, or Ferndale Road. Some objectors at the inquiry
in
1993 thought adding another lane to the existing road would be better,
and traffic management with no widening would be ideal. Their ideal
would
be to cut transport requirement using the principle of local goods for
local needs. This new road would go across an iron age settlement,
Castle
Hill, cause the loss of semi-natural ancient woodland, including what
is
believed to be a relic of the extensive ancient forest of Andredsweald.
The road goes through a pond with Great Crested Newts, an endangered
species.
This contravenes accepted law. Material of archaeological interest in
the
ditch surrounding Castle Hill was lost when the previous section of A21
was constructed. The bottom line is the cost which will be considerably
more than the previous DTp estimate as we understand tenders for
building
the trunk road are to come to parliament under the Design Build Fund
and
Operate scheme. Before any such road is considered a proper
environmental
assessment must be demanded. The inspector’s report after the inquiry
in
1993 said “...Only limited information was available before route
selection
was made and, even now, it is clear that detailed, sophisticated
research
is needed, ...”. We endorse your policy of an integrated transport
system,
and trust you will reconsider road building proposals such as this.