National Highways Engagement in Deprived communities
Case reference EIR2025/00517
Received 12 March 2025
Published 22 May 2025
Request
Please provide the following information: Environmental Impact Assessment:
a) Any environmental impact assessments conducted by National Highways between 2015-2024 regarding the use of Tyburn Road as a diversion route for M6 traffic.
b) Air quality and noise pollution data collected by National Highways from monitoring stations on or near Tyburn Road from 2015 to present, including:
24-hour PM2.5 averages
Night-time (23:00-05:00) noise measurements
Coordination with Local Authorities:
a) Records of communication between National Highways and Birmingham City Council from 2015-2024 regarding the management of Tyburn Road as part of the SRN diversion network.
b) Any joint assessments or studies conducted with Birmingham City Council on the impact of increased HGV traffic on Tyburn Road post-2015.
Vibration Impact:
a) Any vibration assessments or surveys conducted by National Highways on Tyburn Road between 2015-2024, particularly related to HGV traffic diverted from the M6.
b) Records of any compensation claims received or processed by National Highways for property damage along Tyburn Road potentially linked to increased traffic vibration (2015-2024).
Policy and Planning:
a) National Highways' policies or guidelines (current as of 2024) on managing environmental impacts of Motorway diversion routes on local communities.
b) Any plans or proposals (2020-2024) to mitigate environmental impacts on Gravelly Hill residents due to Tyburn Road's use as an SRN diversion route.
Response
Information provided
Coordination with Local Authorities:
a) Records of communication between National Highways and Birmingham City Council from 2015-2024 regarding the management of Tyburn Road as part of the SRN diversion network.
Please see the 11 PDFs which can be downloaded from this folder EIR2025 00517
Please note that only route cards that are within the scope of your request have been provided i.e. those that show the 4 DRUE routes that use the Tyburn Road.
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FAO XXX - FW NHBCC - Emergency Diversion Routes - Initial Routes Review - NE_Redacted
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M50_Redacted
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M56_Redacted
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M057
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M64_Redacted
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Ward Map Permit Team 010323_Redacted
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National Highways Diversion Routes for Unplanned Events_Redacted
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M6-S-9-050
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M6-N-9-056
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M6-N-9-057
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M6-N-9-064
Personal information has been withheld under Regulation 13 of the Environmental Information Regulations 2004.
Information not held
Environmental Impact Assessment:
a) Any environmental impact assessments conducted by National Highways between 2015-2024 regarding the use of Tyburn Road as a diversion route for M6 traffic.
b) Air quality and noise pollution data collected by National Highways from monitoring stations on or near Tyburn Road from 2015 to present, including:
24-hour PM2.5 averages
Night-time (23:00-05:00) noise measurements
Coordination with Local Authorities:
b) Any joint assessments or studies conducted with Birmingham City Council on the impact of increased HGV traffic on Tyburn Road post-2015.
Vibration Impact:
a) Any vibration assessments or surveys conducted by National Highways on Tyburn Road between 2015-2024, particularly related to HGV traffic diverted from the M6.
b) Records of any compensation claims received or processed by National Highways for property damage along Tyburn Road potentially linked to increased traffic vibration (2015-2024).
Policy and Planning:
a) National Highways' policies or guidelines (current as of 2024) on managing environmental impacts of Motorway diversion routes on local communities.
b) Any plans or proposals (2020-2024) to mitigate environmental impacts on Gravelly Hill residents due to Tyburn Road's use as an SRN diversion route.
I can confirm that National Highways does not hold this information, and as such this part of your request has been refused under Regulation 12(4)(a) of the Environmental Information Regulations 2004 as information not held.
Advice and Assistance
National Highways is responsible for managing the motorways and some A roads in England, which we refer to as the Strategic Road Network (SRN).
Local Highway Authorities (LHA) are responsible for managing all other roads in their area. This includes making decisions about whether their road is suitable for use as a Diversion Route for Unplanned Events (DRUEs) or as a diversion route for planned events. Examples of unplanned events include road traffic collisions and police incidents. An example of a planned event is roadworks.
In our previous response we advised you that 'LHAs authorise the use of diversion routes for planned closures and then sign them off yearly as still being appropriate for DRUEs.' However it has since come to light that this is not entirely correct. Please accept my apologies for the error.
Instead, diversions for unplanned and planned events are handled separately. For DRUEs, we seek approval from the LHA once every 12 months. For planned events, whoever is managing the work, for example one our contractors, will apply to the LHA as and when required for planned diversion approval in the weeks or months leading up to the closure.
Although the diversion route taken by traffic from the SRN during a planned and an unplanned event might sometimes be the same, this will be due to the suitability of the surrounding roads rather than utilisation of the DRUE.
Birmingham City Council is the LHA for the Tyburn Road and it forms part of their Key Route Network (KRN). We therefore believe that some of the information you have requested may be held by Birmingham City Council. If you have not already done so you may wish to submit a request to them. Details of how to do this can be found on their website.
You might find it useful to know that the West Midlands Combined Authority has a webpage about air quality monitoring in Birmingham which includes a link to an interactive map of the air quality monitoring stations run by Birmingham City Council.
Documents
This is National Highways' response to a freedom of information (FOI) or environmental information regulations (EIR) request.
You can browse our other responses or make a new FOI request.