Asked by: Michael Fallon (Conservative - Sevenoaks)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how many Dart Charge payments were (a) late and (b) not paid since 2010.
Answered by Jesse Norman - Shadow Leader of the House of Commons
The Dart Charge free flow system is a prepayment system, but with users given until midnight the day after the crossing was made to make a payment without penalty. 95% of users of the Dartford Crossing pay in compliance with these charging rules and the 5% who do not are sent a Penalty Charge Notice (PCN). There is no category of ‘late payment’.
The number of UK PCNs issued since the introduction of the free flow charging scheme is as follows:
2015 - 2,106,748
2016 - 2,051,013
2017 - 1,869,800
2018 (up until 30/11/2018) - 2,014,737
Highways England pursue PCN cases vigorously, with 75 per cent of these paid following enforcement processes.
Asked by: Michael Fallon (Conservative - Sevenoaks)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what is the current average (a) waiting time and (b) crossing time for cars using the Dartford crossing.
Answered by Jesse Norman - Shadow Leader of the House of Commons
Highways England do not hold data for average waiting times for cars using the Dartford Crossing. The Dartford Crossing was designed to be a Free Flow Crossing without toll booths.
With regard to average crossing times, the table below contains the available average all-day journey time data for the northbound route from M25 Junction 2 to M25 Junction 30 including the Dartford Thurrock Crossing. This data has been collected by Highways England and processed on a consistent and comparable basis since June 2018. With regard to data collected from 2014 to June 2018, I refer my Rt Hon. Friend to the answer I gave on 7 November 2018 to Commons Question 185533.
Average Journey Time, Dartford Crossing Northbound (M25 J2 - J30), July 2018 – Sept 2018
Time period (month-year) | Average journey time (minutes: seconds) |
Jul-18 | 10.16 |
Aug-18 | 10.13 |
Sep-18 | 08:51 |
The table below contains the available average all-day journey time data for the southbound route from M25 Junction 29 to M25 Junction 1b including the Dartford Thurrock Crossing. This data has been collected and processed on a consistent and comparable basis since 2014.
Average Journey Time, Dartford Crossing Southbound (M25 J29 – J1b), 2014-18
Time period (month-year) | Average journey time | Time period (month-year) | Average journey time |
Jan-14 | 11:32 | Jan-17 | 10:58 |
Feb-14 | 13:25 | Feb-17 | 11:33 |
Mar-14 | 12:47 | Mar-17 | 10:52 |
Apr-14 | 17:04 | Apr-17 | 10:19 |
May-14 | 17:08 | May-17 | 10:31 |
Jun-14 | 17:04 | Jun-17 | 11:00 |
Jul-14 | 21:53 | Jul-17 | 10:53 |
Aug-14 | 21:44 | Aug-17 | 11:13 |
Sep-14 | 15:36 | Sep-17 | 10:57 |
Oct-14 | 19:21 | Oct-17 | 11:38 |
Nov-14 | 17:26 | Nov-17 | 11:45 |
Dec-14 | 10:47 | Dec-17 | 11:22 |
Jan-15 | 10:17 | Jan-18 | 10:58 |
Feb-15 | 10:25 | Feb-18 | 11:41 |
Mar-15 | 10:54 | Mar-18 | 12:18 |
Apr-15 | 10:34 | Apr-18 | 10:42 |
May-15 | 11:11 | May-18 | 10:46 |
Jun-15 | 11:20 | Jun-18 | 10:41 |
Jul-15 | 11:28 | Jul-18 | 11:32 |
Aug-15 | 10:25 | Aug-18 | 11:20 |
Sep-15 | 10:16 | Sep-18 | 10:48 |
Oct-15 | 10:54 | ||
Nov-15 | 11:11 | ||
Dec-15 | 11:23 | ||
Jan-16 | 11:59 | ||
Feb-16 | 13:16 | ||
Mar-16 | 12:27 | ||
Apr-16 | 12:31 | ||
May-16 | 12:21 | ||
Jun-16 | 11:32 | ||
Jul-16 | 12:08 | ||
Aug-16 | 12:33 | ||
Sep-16 | 11:37 | ||
Oct-16 | 12:15 | ||
Nov-16 | 13:09 | ||
Dec-16 | 11:29 |
Asked by: Michael Fallon (Conservative - Sevenoaks)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what recent assessment his Department has made of the environmental effect of the current volume of traffic at the Dartford crossing.
Answered by Jesse Norman - Shadow Leader of the House of Commons
Along with Dartford Borough Council and Thurrock Council, Highways England maintains air quality monitoring units near the Dartford Crossing and monitors the effect of traffic volumes.
In response to concerns about air quality at the Crossing, Highways England are currently investigating options for improving air quality on the A282 approach to the Crossing.
Asked by: Michael Fallon (Conservative - Sevenoaks)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how many vehicles used the Dartford crossing in each year since 2010; and how many vehicles his Department forecasts will use the Dartford crossing in 2027.
Answered by Jesse Norman - Shadow Leader of the House of Commons
| During charging hours only | All Hours |
2014 | 43,877,259 | 49,931,560 |
2015 | 46,658,806 | 53,396,502 |
2016 | 48,113,881 | 55,527,345 |
2017 | 49,498,775 | 57,341,717 |
2018 (up until 30/11/2018) | 45,898,753 | 53,251,637 |
Highways England does not hold forecast data for vehicles on the Dartford Crossing in 2027.
Asked by: Michael Fallon (Conservative - Sevenoaks)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, for what reason the building of a footpath over the railway bridge in Crockenhill, reference SD341, has been delayed; and what the timetable is for Network Rail to complete that work.
Answered by Andrew Jones
The Department for Transport does not hold this detailed information. However, I understand from Network Rail (NR) that the Crockenhill footbridge was inspected and found to be in a dangerous and unsafe condition and has been closed since September 2017. NR has put together a plan to see this old bridge removed and a new one installed by the end of this financial year. However this schedule is dependent on agreement of third parties whose co-operation is required to carry out both the removal of the old bridge and the installation of the new one. Providing NR can resolve these matters successfully, they expect to be able to confirm the timescales for the replacement of the bridge before the end of 2018.
Asked by: Michael Fallon (Conservative - Sevenoaks)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps his Department is taking to monitor variations in the water table in the area around Stonehenge to ensure that any new roads constructed near to that site do not have a destructive impact on the archaeological remains.
Answered by Jesse Norman - Shadow Leader of the House of Commons
Previous surveys have provided an extensive understanding of the variations in the water table that can occur in the area around Stonehenge. Highways England are supplementing this knowledge through further groundwater monitoring, which is informing hydrological modelling being undertaken in collaboration with the Environment Agency.
The scheme is being designed to minimise effects on groundwater flows. The proposed use of a tunnel boring machine means the tunnel would be constructed in a sealed, watertight environment. This means water would not need to be pumped out of the ground during construction, ensuring no adverse effects on the water table.
Asked by: Michael Fallon (Conservative - Sevenoaks)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, with reference to Article 4 of the 1972 World Heritage Convention, what assessment he has made of whether plans for a new tunnel and flyover at Stonehenge are compliant with the terms of that Convention.
Answered by Jesse Norman - Shadow Leader of the House of Commons
A key aim of the scheme is to remove the roads and heavy traffic, with their associated noise and disturbance, from the vicinity of the Stonehenge World Heritage Site – improving the presentation of the Site both for now and for future generations.
A full environmental impact assessment of the A303 Stonehenge scheme is under way. This will include a Heritage Impact Assessment, that has regard to Article 4 of the World Heritage Convention. This will be published as part of Highways England’s application for a Development Consent Order.
A historic environment assessment was undertaken in relation to the choice of preferred route for the A303 Stonehenge scheme. This is contained in Appendix E to the scheme assessment report published in September 2017 and is available at: https://highwaysengland.citizenspace.com/cip/a303-stonehenge/results/sar-volume-7.pdf
Asked by: Michael Fallon (Conservative - Sevenoaks)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment his Department has made of the potential effect on the prehistoric landscape at Stonehenge of the proposals for a new flyover and tunnel.
Answered by Jesse Norman - Shadow Leader of the House of Commons
A principal aim of the scheme is to remove the roads and heavy traffic, with their associated noise and disturbance from the vicinity of the stones and to reunite Stonehenge with its surrounding monuments in their natural chalk downland setting. This involves removing the road and its traffic completely from within sight of the stones, with the locations of the tunnel portals being beyond the visual horizons from Stonehenge.
Highways England is carrying out extensive Heritage Impact Assessments to ensure the scheme brings benefits without creating unacceptable effects on the important features of the World Heritage Site.
A programme of archaeological surveys has been developed with input from an independent Scientific Committee, which comprises some of the country’s most eminent archaeologists. The project also has a Heritage Monitoring and Advisory Group comprising Historic England, Wiltshire Council Archaeology Service, English Heritage and The National Trust. The Scientific Committee and Advisory Group will continue to have oversight of all the archaeological findings as the scheme develops. Further information about the Scientific Committee’s work can be found at: http://www.a303scientificcommittee.org.uk/