UNADOPTED ROADS, POOLE (Hansard, 19 May 1953)

§ Captain Richard Pilkington (Poole)

I apologise to the Parliamentary Secretary for keeping him at this late hour, but I have waited a long time for this opportunity to raise a matter which is of very great concern to a large number of my constituents. The problem I wish to put to him is the astonishing number of astonishingly bad unadopted roads which there is in the borough and constituency of Poole. This state of affairs is the more unfortunate because in every other respect, in the way of amenities and general beauty, Poole is extremely well off. The corporation are, of course, ready and willing to remove this blemish from the borough as quickly as they can. They are very sympathetic with the indignant feeling of the ratepayers and inhabitants of Poole that this state of affairs of very bad roads has gone on for so long, but they of course require the sanction of the Ministry of Housing and Local Government before they can do anything, and I fully appreciate that the Minister also requires the sanction of the Treasury before he can do anything.

I propose now to make a few quotations from some of the representations which have been put to me which will, I think, illustrate in a vivid way the great difficulty with which people living in these roads are confronted at the present time. In all these cases I have already had some contact either with the Minister himself or with the local authorities to see whether anything could be done. I propose this evening to give a cumulative picture of the whole, and I hope when I have done that the seriousness of the situation will persuade my hon. Friend to take the action which all who live in this area very much wish him to take.

The first example I wish to put to the Minister is that of Runton Road, in respect of which a petition was signed by 98 per cent. of its inhabitants last year. They pointed out that this road had been built on a very steep slope and that whenever the weather is bad the unmade surface washes down, chokes the drains and on one occasion a little over a year 2037 ago contributed very materially to a most serious flooding which occurred in a road slightly lower than the one of which I am speaking and where the water in the houses was actually waist deep. However, that is another story.

One of the letters I have received comes from a gentleman living in this road. He writes as follows: The state of this road is positively shocking. At night certain sections are most dangerous to cars and pedestrians. He gives chapter and verse for what he says.

The second instance is that of a group of roads—Twemlow Avenue, Orchard Avenue, Island Road and Copse Close. During the last 25 years this road has on two occasions been repaired by the residents at their own expense. But the road has deteriorated, and conditions have got bad again. Its present state is really very bad indeed. I have been given a list of accidents which have occurred on this road owing to its bad surface. These accidents include numerous cuts on the body, three sprained ankles, one fractured ankle and in one case a fall which necessitated five stitches in the individual's head. In another case an arm was broken in two places.

I have had two letters from people living in this road. One is from a lady who gives me the list of accidents from which I have quoted. She quotes 14 in all and adds: No doubt inquiries would bring other accidents to light, especially among the very young and the elderly. Perhaps here I should make the point that a large number of retired and elderly people live in the neighbourhood, and for that reason it is all the more regrettable that these roads are so bad. The second letter from the same area describes in some detail the shocking state in which this road is at present and adds that it has been like this for over 20 years.

The next road is called Connaught Crescent. A letter from one of the people living in it refers to the large holes and blocked drains, and says that cars and cycles drive on the side-walk to avoid the surface. That gives one some idea of how very bad it is. The same correspondent comments with some justification on the irony of the cry "Make the Roads Safe." I was 2038 invited to drive over this road and to see for myself what it was like. When I saw it I preferred to get out and walk. There is another road, called Cuckoo Road. Its surface is so bad that a seven months' old baby was tipped out of its pram and only escaped serious injury by the mercy of Providence.

Of another road, Spur Road, a correspondent writes to me: I fell and broke my arm and the doctor said it would never be the same again. I have had to have a part of the bone removed. This road is really dangerous. I have heard of several people who have fallen in it. One lady has a permanent injury and cannot straighten her arm. I suppose someone will have to be killed before anything is done. On behalf of all I write to say that if something is not done there are elderly people round this district to whom accidents might be fatal. Stanfield Road is described in another letter as consisting of stagnant pools, with flooding in wet weather and clouds of dust when dry. Many of these cases, I may say, have been taken up by local associations who have done what they could. In particular Oakdale Ratepayers' Association have made a very strong case for roads in their area. In a letter to me they mention especially Brampton Road, which has no lighting and where accidents and burglaries have occurred. Churchill Crescent is described as dangerous with no lighting. I suggest that when a crescent has that illustrious name something ought to be done to improve its condition.

Finally, I have a letter describing Pearsons Avenue as in: …an abominable condition reminiscent of the shell holes in the Ypres sector of the 1914–18 war … Householders place their garden garbage in the holes, which makes it ten times worse when it rains. … Kerbs and channelling have almost disappeared and it is difficult to know where the pavement ends and the road begins. Consequently the traffic uses both. Each winter conditions get worse. In the summer the dust is as intolerable as the winter mud. I have put forward actual instances of roads and the experiences of those who live on them. I hope that I have said enough to show the seriousness of the position, and I ask the Minister that something really effective be done. I know that the times are hard and have been hard. In the first six years after the war only two miles of roads were repaired. That represented some 20 different streets or roads. But there 2039 remain, in the condition which I have described, no less than 50 miles of these bad roads, or 270 individual streets. Of this total, some 96 streets, or 16 miles, have been grouped together and are scheduled for action as soon as it can be taken and the Ministry concerned has given permission.

No doubt it will be said that the economic position of this country is still in a parlous state, although it is improving, and that no unnecessary expenditure must be incurred. No doubt it will be said also that the difficulty of capital expenditure at the present time is very great indeed. It may also be said that there is great difficulty in carrying out work of this kind in any one area. My constituents realise all this, but I submit that the conditions which I have described, the damage to life and limb which has occurred and which will presumably go on occurring, the damage to vehicles, the waste of petrol; the loss of time, the strain on the temper of the individual are all powerful arguments for action now, and that is what I am asking for—action, and action now.

§ The Parliamentary Secretary to the Ministry of Housing and Local Government (Mr. Ernest Marples)

My hon. and gallant Friend the Member for Poole (Captain Pilkington) opened his remarks with the observation that Poole is well off for amenities. It is also well represented in this House. The hon. and gallant Member has put forward the case for his constituents in a reasonable manner, lucidly and persuasively. Charles Dickens once spoke of a judicious and impartial arrangement of difficulties. Therefore I am glad to say that there has been an absence of the asperities which may have accompanied the Finance Bill discussion in regard to sport.

The hon. and gallant Member mentioned several problems of which I took careful note. He mentioned Runton Road, 98 per cent. of the inhabitants of which had sent letters to him. He said that the road was on a slope, and that there were therefore technical difficulties. He mentioned Churchill Crescent. Although the crescent itself may be in danger, I would have thought that the 2040 name and the position were safe. He mentioned Tremlow Avenue and Island Close. I do not think he is quite right in saying that the accidents which have occurred have been necessarily due to the bad roads. The hon. and gallant Gentleman talked about ankles being sprained. I sprained my ankle on a perfectly simple skiing slope, and I did not feel that I could write to the local authority and say that the slope ought to be made safer. The mishap was largely caused because I was not capable of negotiating the slope.

I was also told that cyclists have to go on to the sidewalks to avoid the bad surfaces. When I go to France as a cyclist, in Lyons, Orleans, Tours, and even in Paris, I have to go on to the sidewalks to avoid the roads because they are not safe for cyclists. Wherever one goes, whether to Canada or America, one will rind that one cannot make the roads and the whole of the natural amenities so safe that pedestrians and even cyclists cannot find themselves in danger. Before a highway authority will adopt a road—that is, become responsible for its upkeep—it requires that road to be made up to its specification at the expense of the persons who own the frontages. The making up is usually carried out by the local authorities, often many years after houses have been built along both sides of the road.

The war, and other necessary work after the war, meant many delays over making up private streets. Even before the war there were many unmade roads. During the war nothing could be done to them. Since the war successive Governments, including this one, have concentrated building and civil engineering resources on more urgent work, such as housing, schools, defence, industry, sewers and water supplies. The result is that the backlog of unmade streets which was the residue of the pre-war years has not been attended to.

After at least 30 years, possibly 40 years, in an unmade state they must be pretty bad; but I would ask the hon. and gallant Member, if resources are to be concentrated on the roads he has described, what other work are we to leave undone? Are we to do without schools or houses or factories? It comes down to a question of priorities. I say this, with the hon. Members opposite thronging those benches, and I say it with 2041 the modesty associated with all politicians: this Government have built far more houses than were built by the previous Government, more industrial buildings and more schools. The Chancellor has announced that licences will be available freely to productive industries. The defence effort in building is greater than it was formerly and the total demand on the building and civil engineering industry is greater today than in the last five or six years.

Therefore, if we are to elevate the repair of unmade roads to the topmost priority, what are we to relegate? That is the question which my hon. and gallant Friend must answer. I assure him that it is still necessary to establish priorities in the categories of work to be allowed. It is not a question of an insensitive bureaucracy prohibiting the repair of these streets but of a judicious allocation of the resources available.

The Minister is aware that many private streets are in a bad condition. He knows that many local authorities would like to do a lot more work on them than he can authorise. But if he authorises work on these streets it can only be at the expense of the priorities I have mentioned, such as schools, houses and industrial buildings.

It is realised that there is a large backlog. We are glad that my hon. Friend has prodded the Ministry, for all Ministries, even the efficient Ministry run by my right hon. Friend, requires to be prodded from time to time, but I can assure him that we move with a reasonable celerity in these matters. My right hon. Friend hopes to authorise more work this year than last year for the making of private streets so that in this narrow sector there is an advance, and he will try to authorise the expenditure wherever the case is urgent, but let us try to look at the problem in perspective. It is not one which is getting worse every year because of the post-war housing programme. Many people think the problem of unmade streets is getting worse, but that is not so.

The best time to make up streets is when the houses are being built and the builders are on the spot, not after the houses have been built. It is a waste of materials and manpower to endeavour to make up a street after the houses 2042 have been built. Both local authorities and private builders are allowed to make up the roads when they are building the houses which this Government are having built, so that the evil which my hon. Friend seeks to remedy is not being perpetuated by the present system of building. It is a backlog but it is not being perpetuated in the building being carried out. A few builders do not make up the roads when they build the houses but they are greatly outnumbered by those being made in the same period.

The position in the country as a whole is being carefully watched by my right hon. Friend. We are aware of the arrears of work to be done to make the private roads both safe and agreeable to the inhabitants. We are not insensitive on the matter and we are making sure that in the building being done now the same evil is not being continued.

The question is, how soon can we overtake the arrears of work which have to be done? The problem with regard to the country as a whole is difficult, but it is not grave and not really serious. At the same time, we must not minimise it. As far as the narrow issue of the Poole Borough Council is concerned—the local authority which my hon. and gallant Friend represents so assiduously and so effectively—there have been no protests. They have approached the Ministry this year about two streets, which will cost £16,000 to make up, and in each case a favourable reply has been given. Every request which has been made from that local authority has been met in full, but I cannot say that I could guarantee that my right hon. Friend can do any more because, on present standards, £16,000 is by no means ungenerous.

I am sure the House will be grateful to my hon. and gallant Friend for raising this subject, but I must point out that I have been in many countries and I do not know of any where the roads leading to the houses are of the high standards that we have here. In Canada, for example, quite expensive houses have roads which are far worse than any I have seen here, and the same applies to the United States of America, though both are richer countries than this.

I do not think we need to be ashamed of the state of our roads. At the same time there is no reason why we should 2043 be satisfied, and I hope that with the assistance of my right hon. Friend, the continuance of this Government and the repetition of the result which we had at Sunderland, we shall be able to do more good work in the next three years than has been done in the last nine. With those few observations I hope my hon. 2044 and gallant Friend will repair to his constituency and assure his constituents that the problem of private streets has been well looked after.