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Traffic, Comber
Mr. John D. Taylor:
To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland (1) what is the volume of traffic on the Newtownards road near the cemetery in Comber; if he
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will assess the benefits of the provision of a pedestrian crossing at this location; how many pupils are enrolled at Comber Primary and Comber High schools; and if he will make a statement; [94370]
Mr. George Howarth:
Responsibility for the subject in question has been delegated to the Roads Service under its Chief Executive, Mr. C. James. I have asked him to arrange for a reply to be given.
Letter from C. James to Mr. John D. Taylor, dated 21 October 1999:
Mr. John D. Taylor:
To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland (1) how many planning applications for residential developments in the Carryduff area are presently being considered; and if he will make a statement; [94547]
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Mr. George Howarth:
Responsibility for the subject in question has been delegated to the Planning Service under its Chief Executive, Mr. H. S. McKay. I have asked him to arrange for a reply to be given.
Letter from H. S. McKay to Mr. John D. Taylor, dated 22 October 1999:
Mr. John D. Taylor:
To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many qualified town planners are employed in the planning service currently; what was the level five years ago; when preparation of the Ards Area Plan will commence; when preparation of the North Down Area Plan will commence; and if he will make a statement on resources available to the Planning Service to review the Area Plan Programme. [94374]
Mr. George Howarth:
Responsibility for the subject in question has been delegated to the Planning Service under its Chief Executive, Mr. H. S. McKay. I have asked him to arrange for a reply to be given.
Letter from H. S. McKay to Mr. John D. Taylor, dated 22 October 1999:
Mr. John D. Taylor:
To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland when the hedge at the Houston Road into
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the plant testing station was last cut; what record there is of car accidents at this location; and if he will make a statement. [94545]
Mr. George Howarth:
Responsibility for the subject in question has been delegated to the Roads Service under its Chief Executive, Mr. C. James. I have asked him to arrange for a reply to be given.
Letter from G. P. Fraser to Mr. John D. Taylor, dated 25 October 1999:
Mr. John D. Taylor:
To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what is the location of the original Scrabo Stone from the former Kinnel Marsh and Kennedy's Bridges at Comber; if it will be saved for the construction of the next stage of the Comber Bypass; and if he will make a statement. [94368]
Mr. George Howarth:
Responsibility for the subject in question has been delegated to the Road Service under its Chief Executive, Mr. C. James. I have asked him to arrange for a reply to be given.
Letter from C. James to Mr. John D. Taylor, dated 21 October 1999:
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(2) what assessment he has made of traffic flow conditions at the junction of Darragh Road with the Newtownards Road in Comber; what plans he has to provide traffic lights at this junction; and if he will make a statement. [94369]
The Secretary of State for Northern Ireland has asked me to respond to your recently tabled Parliamentary Questions about, inter alia, traffic flows in the vicinity of Newtownards Road, Comber.
First, you asked about the volume of traffic on Newtownards Road near the cemetery in Comber, the benefits of a pedestrian crossing at this location and how many pupils are enrolled at Comber Primary and Comber High Schools.
The last comprehensive survey of traffic volumes on Newtownards Road close to the cemetery was carried out in 1996. The survey recorded an annual average 24-hour flow of 12,480 vehicles with a peak hour flow of 1,080 vehicles. A more recent survey of peak hour traffic volumes was carried out on 27 September 1999, when the peak hour flow was found to be 1,250 vehicles. This would equate with an annual average 24-hour traffic flow of 14,500 vehicles.
As regards the provision of a pedestrian crossing at this location, Roads Service carried out a survey of pedestrians and vehicles on Monday 27 September 1999. Our survey found that during each of the 4 busiest hours of the day the level of pedestrian traffic was significantly less than that required to warrant the provision of a pedestrian crossing. In the circumstances, Roads Service has no proposals to provide a pedestrian crossing at this location.
I am advised by my colleagues in the Department of Education that enrolment figures for Comber Primary and Comber High Schools for the academic year 1998-99 were 389 and 448 respectively.
Secondly, you asked what assessment has been made of traffic flow conditions at the junction of Darragh Road and Newtownards Road and what plans there are to provide traffic lights at this junction.
The flow of traffic at this junction has been assessed in the past but, as it is some time since a full appraisal was carried out, we will undertake an appraisal taking account of the volume of traffic, the lengths of traffic queues and the delays experienced.
As regards the provision of traffic lights, such facilities are only provided at junctions where there is significant congestion throughout the day. With the exception of the relatively short duration morning peak period, queues have not been observed at this junction during the course of the working day. Nevertheless, our appraisal of the junction will determine if there is a need for traffic lights at this location and I will write to you again when the results of our appraisal are known.
I hope this information is helpful.
(2) how many applications for housing developments of more than 50 units have been submitted for planning approval within the green belt area in Carryduff district; and if he will make a statement. [94548]
The Secretary of State has asked me to reply to your recent Questions about proposed housing developments in the Carryduff area.
The Department is currently considering six applications for residential developments in the Carryduff area. Each of these applications propose more than 50 units in green belt locations.
I do hope this is helpful.
The Secretary of State has asked me to reply to your recent Question about staffing levels and the resources available to the Planning Service for Area Plan work.
For the purpose of the answer, "qualified town planners" are taken to mean those staff who possess either MRTPI membership or a post-graduate diploma in Planning, or a degree qualification in Planning. Based on these criteria, there are currently 137 "qualified" planners (excluding temporary staff) employed by the Planning Service. Regrettably, historical information to this level of detail is not available.
Work started on the Ards Area Plan in January 1999. Work on the Belfast Metropolitan Plan, which will encompass the North Down Borough Council area, is currently scheduled in the Department's Area Plan Programme to commence in the 2000/01 financial year. This Programme is, however, reviewed annually and will be revisited in the forthcoming months when preparing the 2000/01 Business Plan.
Progress with the review of the Area Plan Programme is determined by the resources allocated to this work in the context of the Agency's Corporate and Business Plans as approved by the Minister. The Plans cover the whole range of the Agency's functions and key performance targets, which include the drafting and adoption of specific Plans in this business year, set priorities. In principle, the resources allocated to the Agency are sufficient to deliver these targets although other factors can come into play and affect the outcome.
I do hope this is helpful.
The Secretary of State for Northern Ireland has asked our Chief Executive to respond to your recently tabled Parliamentary Question about hedge cutting at the entrance to the Plant Testing Station at Houston Road, Castlereagh, Belfast and car accident records at this location. In the absence of our Chief Executive, I am replying.
The cutting of roadside hedges is the responsibility of relevant landowners and, in this particular case, responsibility falls to the Department of Agriculture for Northern Ireland, which owns the Plant Testing Station. Colleagues from that Department have advised me that the hedges around the Plant Testing Station are cut annually and that they were last cut in November 1998.
You also asked what record there is of car accidents at this location. The RUC has advised that its records indicate that there has been one "damage only" accident at the junction of Houston Road and Knockbracken Road during the last 12 months.
I hope you find this information helpful.
The Secretary of State for Northern Ireland has asked me to respond to your recently tabled Parliamentary Question about the location of the original Scrabo Stone from the former Kinnel Marsh and Kennedy Bridges near Comber.
I should explain that there are 3 former bridges still existing on the line of the Department of the Environment's proposed Comber Bypass, namely Marsh River Bridge, Kennedy's Bridge and Cherryvalley Bridge. All of these bridges are of Scrabo Stone construction. Over the years, stone has been removed from these bridges by persons unknown and recently Roads Service utilised some stone from Cherryvalley Bridge for use on accommodation works at a nearby road improvement scheme.
The Department's proposed Comber Bypass scheme requires the replacement of the Marsh River Bridge and the design carried out to date does not include the use of Scrabo Stone. Consideration could, however, be given to the possible use of the stone.
At present, discussions are ongoing between the Department and a consortium of developers regarding a proposed housing development in the area which might involve the completion of the Comber Bypass earlier than is currently planned. The proposed development may require some minor alterations to the line of the proposed Bypass and possible replacement structures for Kennedy's Bridge and Cherryvalley Bridge. As yet, however, no final decisions have been made regarding this proposal and no detailed design has been undertaken.
I hope you find this information helpful.
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