HC Deb 05 December 1962 vol 668 cc1316-7
19. Mr. Driberg

asked the Minister of Transport what steps he is taking by advertising, public-service announcements on television, and other means, to dissuade motorists from driving to West-End shopping streets to inspect the pre-Christmas decorations.

Mr. Marples

I have appealed to the public through the Press to make full use of public transport, and to avoid the rush hours.

Mr. Driberg

But has the Minister had personal experience of the hellish chaos of the traffic-jams caused by these grossly premature celebrations, or does he just slip through the traffic-jams on his bicycle? In addition to the rather ineffective appeal he has so far made, would he for the future consider asking the shopkeepers and their associations not to start Christmas until, at any rate, half-way through Advent?

Mr. Marples

I think that Christmas is not the time to be as gloomy as the hon. Gentleman is. It is a time for the children.. Quite honestly, this display in the West End is very expensive to mount and ought, therefore, to be spread over quite a period. I would very much regret it if, at this stage, it were necessary for a Minister to interfere, and I certainly regret that the Opposition—or the hon. Member—should say that these lights should not be installed in Oxford Street. Of course I have been in the traffic-jams caused thereby but, generally speaking, they are at night, and not during the day when business is being conducted.

Mr. Lipton

Would it not be simpler, in order to allow as many people as possible to look at these illuminations without inconvenience on a large scale, to put up decorations in the Mall—and other places like that—which is near enough to the West End to make a night out worth while, without causing all this congestion, and people getting in the way of buses?

Mr. Marples

I doubt very much whether the occupants of the various clubs in Pall Mall would like lights outside their premises; or would like to pay for them. These lights are paid for by the shopkeepers in Oxford Street to attract trade.