Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what correspondence her Department has had with Fenland District Council on their decision not to permit the passage of the Terra Marique barge on the River Nene between Sutton Bridge and Wisbech.

The Department sought clarification from Fenland District Council of its decision not to permit passage, and the Council confirmed that its decision had been made on the basis of a risk assessment by qualified advisers. The Department remains committed to its ‘water-preferred’ abnormal load movement policy.