Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if he will visit the Black Cat roundabout in Bedfordshire to make an assessment of the extent of the improvement works being carried out and the effect of those works on neighbouring businesses.

I would be delighted to visit again the Black Cat roundabout.

Work on this important Pinch Point Scheme is now nearing completion and the impact that the work has had on neighbouring businesses will soon end.

I am keen to ensure that the impact of all construction work on local businesses is minimised wherever possible, as is the Highways Agency. I am aware that the close proximity of these particular works to neighbouring businesses has been the cause of some frustration, however, I am also aware of the efforts made by the Highways Agency to listen to local concerns and to address them during the construction phase where it has been possible to do so.

Once completed, the improvements made at the Black Cat Roundabout will benefit not only its near neighbours but the local and wider economies through safer and less congested journeys.