§ 11. Sir L. Ropnerasked the Minister of Transport whether he will now announce when Selby Toll Bridge will be freed from tolls, and when work will be started on the Selby by-pass.
§ Mr. HayAs my hon. and gallant Friend is aware, negotiations with the toll owners showed that the probable cost of acquiring the tolls would greatly exceed the amount we feel the scheme would justify, and we are accordingly not prepared to proceed with it. As regards the second part of the Question, it is still too soon to forecast when work on the by-pass can begin.
§ Sir L. RopnerIs my hon. Friend aware that in failing to free the Selby toll bridge his Department has a quite disgraceful record stretching back over a period of nearly a quarter of a century? Cannot he persuade his right hon. Friend to take action now to get rid of this antiquated anachronism, which has handicapped trade and industry in Selby for far too long a period?
§ Mr. HayI cannot accept, in the slightest degree, the strictures of my hon. and gallant Friend about the action of my right hon. Friend's Department. They are quite untrue. As far as we are concerned, we conceive that the correct solution for Selby's problems is the by-pass referred to in his original Question, and we believe that that is the best way of handling the problem.