asked the Minister of Transport what volume of traffic can be expected to remain on the A427, at the point where it passes through Market Harborough, once the proposed A1-M1 link road is built from Cathorpe to Huntingdon.

The Department's forecasting methods are not sufficiently fine to take account of small local movements. Thus, I cannot accurately forecast the actual volume of traffic on the A427 in Market Harborough once the proposed A1-M1 link road is open. But we can estimate the reduction in the volume of traffic on the A427 through Market Harborough. Traffic is likely to be reduced by about 4,000 vehicles per day when the A1-M1 link opens and by about 6,000 vehicles per day by the end of the century.