Written question asked by Sandra Gidley (Liberal Democrat) on Thursday, 11 July 2002, in the House of Commons. It was due for an answer on Wednesday, 17 July 2002. It was answered by Adam Ingram (Labour) on Wednesday, 17 July 2002 on behalf of the Ministry of Defence.

Ministry of Defence

Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what estimate has been made of the increase in munitions carried by road and rail if the recommended closure of DM Dean Hill proceeds broken down by (a) volume carried and (b) increase in length of time during which munitions will be transported.

Answer: Sandra Gidley: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what estimate has been made of the increase in munitions carried by road and rail if the recommended closure of DM Dean Hill proceeds broken down by (a) volume carried and (b) increase in length of time during which munitions will be transported. [70176] Mr. Ingram: If the closure of Defence Munitions Dean Hill proceeds as planned the munitions currently stored at the Depot would be transferred to other Defence Munitions Establishments. As part of this dispersal activity it is planned to work together with customers and stakeholders to ensure that the resultant distribution of munitions stock more readily lines up with the required outload points for the munitions themselves. Once this re-positioning is completed, the overall planning assumption is that there would be no increase in the volume of munitions carried by road or rail. Likewise there would be no increase in the length in transportation time for the munitions stockpile as a whole.

Secondary information