Asked by: Peter Heaton-Jones (Conservative - North Devon)
Question to the Department for Transport:
What discussions he has had with Devon County Council on improvements to the North Devon link road.
Answered by Jesse Norman
Department and Council officials have met to discuss the arrangements for taking forward the scheme to improve the North Devon Link Road between South Molton and Bideford which was announced in May. The meeting was constructive and we will continue to work closely with the Council leading up to their submission of a final business case in 2020. The Department has given provisional approval to investing £82.1m towards the £93.1m scheme.
Asked by: Peter Heaton-Jones (Conservative - North Devon)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps he is taking to ensure that North Devon constituency is adequately covered by search and rescue services (a) in the summer and (b) at other times when such services are no longer based at RMB Chivenor.
Answered by Robert Goodwill
North Devon will continue to be served by search and rescue (SAR) helicopters operating from military bases at RMB Chivenor through to 1 October 2015 and RNAS Culdrose through to 1 January 2016. A new UK SAR helicopter service operating from new bases at Cardiff St Athan and Newquay Airport will take the place of SAR helicopter services currently operated out of RMB Chivenor and RNAS Culdrose. The start of these new services will coincide with the end of the military services at Chivenor and Culdrose, leaving no gap in SAR helicopter cover for south west England and south Wales. New helicopters offer improved operational capabilities and promise enhanced reliability.