Is it just Owl’s cynical nature or does this sound rather an unpleasant comment?And totally untrue – see Swire’s recent blog post:

Wednesday, 21 September, 2016
East Devon MP Sir Hugo Swire has called for the stretch of the A303/A30 between Honiton and Ilminster to become fully dualled.

In their South West Manifesto, the Conservatives pledged to invest £2 billion in the A303 meaning that much of the road is due to become dualled.

However, under current plans the stretch from Honiton to Ilminster is to be replaced with a three lane road.

The three possible route options are currently under public consultation.

Commenting, Sir Hugo Swire said:

‘Admittedly the stretch of the A30 which runs through my constituency is already fully dualled. However, my constituents use the Honiton to Ilminster stretch of the A303/A30 as much as anyone else and that is the basis of my interest.

‘I welcome the fact that a brand new road is now due to be constructed between Honiton and Ilminster instead of the original proposal to simply carry out minor improvements to the current carriageway. This road is already due to consist of three lanes and I would question whether adding an extra lane would have anything other than a very minor effect both in terms of financial cost and environmental impact.

‘I am not convinced that insufficient traffic along this stretch is a reason not to go for full dualling. If traffic numbers are low then this might be down to the fact that the road is clearly inadequate.

‘The bottom line is that our transport infrastructure in the South West has historically suffered from underinvestment and it is about time this changed. Our local economy, and especially our tourism industry, needs a modern and efficient road network.

‘This has been a political football for too long. We need to bite the bullet and deliver a first class solution rather than a second rate compromise’.

https://www.hugoswire.org.uk/news/swire-bite-bullet-and-dual-a303