HC Deb 21 July 1954 vol 530 cc1341-3
8. Mr. C. Hughes

asked the Minister of Transport and Civil Aviation if he will give details of the length of unclassified roads which have been classified in the six North Wales counties in each of the last three financial years.

Mr. Molson

As the answer involves a number of figures, I will, with permission, circulate it in the OFFICIAL REPORT.

Mr. Hughes

As the percentage of classified roads in Wales is higher than in any other part of the country, cannot the Minister see his way to relax the regulations so that in future a greater number of roads can be classified?

Mr. Molson

I am afraid that I do not quite follow the hon. Gentleman's supplementary. It is the case that in the six North Wales counties to which the hon. Gentleman refers, 54 per cent. of all the roads are trunk or classified roads compared with only 50.4 per cent. in England. That tends to show that we are already taking into account the special needs of North Wales.

Following is the answer:

The following lengths of unclassified road were accepted for classification during the financial years indicated and formally classified on the 1st April following:

County 1951–52 1952–53 1953–54
Miles Miles Miles
Anglesey 5.65 0.56 Nil
Denbighshire 3.48 0.38 Nil
Flintshire 1.17 Nil Nil
Montgomery Nil 19.11 Nil
Totals 10.3 20.05 Nil

The above mileage was classified as Class III (except 0.61 mile which was raised to Class II).

The mileages classified in Class III were partly in substitution for the following mileages of Class III roads which were declassified:

Denbighshire 3.69 miles declassified at the end of 1951–52.
Montogomery 19.11 miles declassified at the end of 1952–53.

No roads in Caernarvonshire or Merionethshire were either classified or declassified during the period.

9. Mr. C. Hughes

asked the Minister of Transport and Civil Aviation what criteria of traffic value and what other factors he takes into consideration when deciding whether a road should be brought into a classified category.

Mr. Molson

The decision whether and how a road should be classified depends on its importance as a through traffic route.

Mr. Hughes

Is the Minister aware that his Department recently agreed to classify a short distance of road in my division on condition that a similar distance in the same county was de-classified? Is that the policy of his Department?

Mr. Molson

In both cases, the decision was justified because it was found that the length of road which was classified had a greater value to through traffic than the road which was declassified.

Mr. Callaghan

Can the Minister say how many through roads there are in the Isle of Anglesey?

Mr. Molson

The mileage is extremely limited, for obvious geographical reasons.