Sir Jim Paice has asked Eric Pickles, the Secretary of State for Local Government, to resolve the confusion about whether there is to be a public inquiry into the Ely bypass planning application.
Sir Jim, MP for SE Cambs, said: “Early this year it looked inevitable that we would end up with a public inquiry, so together with James Palmer, Paul Day, of Turners Soham, and the Dean of Ely Cathedral, I wrote to Eric Pickles asking him to call in the application and get on with a public inquiry.
“I received a reply from his office declining to call the decision in, stating that it should be decided locally.
However, Cambridgeshire County Council has now been told that, should it be minded to approve the application, then any action will be put on hold whilst Eric decides whether to call it in.
“This confusion helps no-one and needs sorting out. The vast majority of local people cannot wait for the bypass and do not want unnecessary delays.
“If there has to be an inquiry, let’s get on with it so we know where we are and can start construction if approved.”
Sir Jim added: “Lucy Frazer (SE Cambs Conservative parliamentary candidate) and I are convinced we need the bypass as soon as possible, and we know that is what the people of Ely want too.”
The application is set to go before Cambridgeshire County Council in September.
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