Action Briefing Apr 2004 - May 2004
	The Newsletter of Birmingham Friends of the Earth

Dudley's weakest link

The attempt to justify building a new link road from the end of the Dudley Southern bypass to the A449 by including it in Dudley’s Unitary Development Plan has been shot down by the Public Inquiry Inspector.

In his deliberations, the Inspector weighed up the arguments in favour of the road and found them weak and flawed. Tellingly, he noted that Dudley Council themselves had acknowledged that transport infrastructure is under most pressure between Dudley and Wolverhampton. He further noted the Council’s recognition of the damage to biodiversity and geology (Fens Pools is an important site for instance) but failed to share their conviction that the damage the road would cause to this irreplaceable area was a price worth paying.

Expectations
On transport issues in general the Inspector suggested that the road building ‘solution’ was not in tune with expectations that cycling, walking, and public transport infrastructure be developed. Dudley Council is, of course, no stranger to unsustainable transport. On the insistence of its past leader, Fred Hunt, the railway through Dudley was not reopened; huge efforts were made to build a Southern Bypass (though a road that passes through an urban area is rarely called a bypass); and the railway formation that could have been used to connect Dudley and Wolverhampton was recently built-over.

Transport 2000 are currently preparing a case against the Dudley-sponsored Metro Branch that would take over the middle section of the Stourbridge to Dudley to Walsall (disused) railway and eliminate future prospects of re-opening. At least in the case of the A449 link road, Dudley has been turned back.

John Hall