§ 26. Mr. Snowasked the Minister of Transport and Civil Aviation whether he is aware of the continued anxiety of the public at the delay in starting the construction of the by-pass at Wall, 1239 Staffordshire; what reply he intends sending to the Lichfield Rural District Council in reply to their letter of 24th April; and what progress has been made concerning the undertaking he gave to the hon. Member for Lichfield and Tamworth on 18th February, 1959.
§ The Joint Parliamentary Secretary to the Ministry of Transport and Civil Aviation (Mr. Richard Nugent)The necessary Order establishing the route for the Wall by-pass scheme will soon be made and the Staffordshire County Council, as our agent authority, will then he invited to prepare the scheme to the contract letting stage. The date when constructional work can be started will depend on the funds available and the time it takes to acquire the necessary land. I cannot be precise at this stage, but the scheme will be proceeded with as soon as practicable.
§ Mr. SnowIs the Joint Parliamentary Secretary aware that the answer sounds all right but that I hope that the delays which are implied in it will not be as disastrous as they sound? Is he aware that this matter has been the subject of Parliamentary Questions on several previous occasions? Does he not agree that his Department must look at this problem urgently? This is theoretically a main road and, by general consensus of local opinion, is at present regarded as extremely dangerous?
§ Mr. NugentWhat I have said in the substantive reply is the fact. We wish to proceed with this matter as quickly as possible. The hon. Member will know that there was an objection, which we have been considering, to the draft line. We hope to be able to clear that in the course of the next few weeks. I rather hope that we might be making the order this month. It is our intention then to proceed with all speed with the preparatory stages of acquiring land. We fully realise how important it is to get all this done.