§ 7. Mr. Robert Howarthasked the Minister of Transport if he will commission an inquiry on the lines of the Third London Airport Inquiry to consider the full implications of the decision to proceed with the construction of a Channel Tunnel.
§ Mr. MarshNo, Sir. Before any final decision can be taken to begin construction of the Channel Tunnel, legislation will be presented to Parliament seeking the necessary enabling powers. This will provide ample opportunity for public consideration of all the issues involved.
§ Mr. HowarthAs I understand that the decision has been taken in principle, would not my right hon. Friend wish to emulate the action of the President of the Board of Trade who very courageously and, I believe, wisely commissioned an inquiry into the Third London Airport? Surely the decision about building the Channel Tunnel is even more important. Can we be assured that the questions will be looked at?
§ Mr. MarshTo make the point clear, no decision has been taken about the building of the Channel Tunnel. It is a matter for Parliament to decide in the light of all the facts which will then be presented to Parliament. The big difference between Stansted and the Channel Tunnel is that Stansted did not require legislation whereas the Channel Tunnel does. I fully accept what my hon. Friend says with regard to consultation. Consultations are already in progress with local authorities and other affected interests, including the South-Eastern Economic Planning Council.
§ 8. Mr. Robert Howarthasked the Minister of Transport if he has considered the effect on the proposal to construct a Channel Tunnel of the ability of large, fast, economical hovercraft to operate from existing East and South Coast ports to most countries of Western Europe; and what conclusion he has reached.
§ Mr. MarshIn past Anglo-French decisions to pursue the Channel Tunnel project, full account was taken of the available information on hovercraft; but before any final commitment to construction of the Tunnel, there must be a further review of its viability and, for this review, new cost and revenue studies will be made. Hovercraft, as one of the methods of cross-Channel transport, will be among the factors in these studies.
§ Mr. HowarthWill my right hon. Friend accept that the potential for hovercraft to operate from the whole length of the East Coast and the South Coast to various ports in Europe must surely affect the proposal to build the Channel Tunnel based on probably the most inconvenient corner of the United Kingdom?
§ Mr. MarshNo, Sir. The preliminary evidence at this moment does not show that. Of course, British Rail is bringing into operation its first cross-Channel hovercraft ferry service this year, and this is one of the things on which we shall want to get some experience. All the previous economic appraisals have indicated that hovercraft will be faster but not necessarily cheaper than ships, that the Channel Tunnel will be cheaper and give better journey times than other methods, and that the Tunnel will avoid double handling on long journeys.
§ Mr. G. CampbellWill the right hon. Gentleman bear in mind the development that is going on with container ships and the effects that this may have on the question of the Channel Tunnel?
§ Mr. MarshWhat I have said is that the Government will want to get the fullest and most up to date information on the alternative forms of transport in relation to the Tunnel. This evidence will be given to Parliament, and Parliament will have the opportunity of debating it fully. All the preliminary 1092 work so far indicates that the Channel Tunnel is viable with or without hovercraft.