§ 28. Sir H. Lucas-Toothasked the Minister of Transport what instructions or advice he has given to county and district council surveyors to keep him and one another informed about proposals to carry out maintenance work on classified roads which may affect traffic diversions arranged in connection with roads elsewhere.
§ Mr. SwinglerNone, Sir. We leave this to the discretion of the local highway authorities concerned.
§ Sir H. Lucas-ToothAs the Parliamentary Secretary will be aware, on a recent occasion when the traffic along the A.4 444 was diverted along the A.350, one urban district council on the A.350 took the occasion to dig it up in order to lay water pipes. Does he regard that as an example of good planning? Surely it is within his powers to do something about it.
§ Mr. SwinglerPlanning is not always as good as it might be, nor as well coordinated, but this is a matter in which local highway authorities and other authorities must concert the action which they are taking. We feel that it cannot be dealt with by direction by my right hon. Friend, but we certainly wish that all local highway authorities—in conjunction, of course, with the divisional road engineers—would inform one another of the actions which they are taking and would endeavour, together with the police, to concert them for the benefit of travellers.