Elementary my dear Watson*

"Watson, you amaze me. How did you get yourself into this mess? This infernal scheme must not progress any further. Do the decent thing old chap..."

Our friends at Save Swallows Wood have today's exclusive: the Highways Agency (HA) have announced dates for the Public Inquiry (though as yet, only in letters to those who wrote in to object/support - a Press Release is yet to appear on their website). The timetable is as follows:

1st May 2007 - Pre-inquiry meeting at Stalybridge Civic Hall, Trinity Street, Stalybrige, SK15 2BN, starting at 10.00 am. The meeting will be presided over by Mr John Watson BSc, FIHT, MICE, MCMI (appointed by the Secretary of State and soon to be Google'd and dissected here mercilessly!)

26th June 2007 - Start of the Public Inquiry

First thoughts - if John Watson is in on this, does that mean we get Sherlock Holmes too?

Secondly - the HA have acted very swiftly since the close of the consultation, although TMBC's trumpeting of a May date for the PI a few months ago shows the timetable has been put back yet again.

Thirdly - they surely haven't counted all those new objections yet?!

Expect more comment and analysis soon.

(* incidentally, this phrase is incorrectly attributed to Holmes, as all his real fans know)