The above forum met last week and whilst there has been no announcement regarding a proposed route, the following gives a rough outline of the timetable that Highways England are working to:

·         The Preferred Route Announcement (PRA)  –  before 21^st June (unless anything unforeseen intervenes);

·         The design and development stage  –  approx. a 16 to 18 month period after the PRA;

·         Statutory public consultation period of 6 weeks (the prescribed norm) after the design stage;

·         The formal submission of the Development Consent Order to the Government (the Planning Inspectorate)  –  after the statutory consultation period and the holding of the public enquiry likely to last for 6 months; and

 ·         After the close of the public enquiry, a further period for pins to submit their recommendation to the Secretary of State (3 months??), a further 3 months (??) for the secretary of State to decide, and then a further period of time to give the opportunity for any legal challenges.