§ 22. Miss Quennellasked the Minister of Transport if he will publish the approximate average cost, excluding land acquisition, of building one mile of motorway through open country for each of the years from 1960 to 1968, inclusive.
Mr. Bob BrownCosts vary so much depending on the particular location that average costs are liable to be misleading. Over the years in question, the costs per mile for construction of rural motorways, excluding land acquisition, were in the following ranges:
For dual 2 lane motorways £229,000 to £1,048,000 per mile.For dual 3 lane motorways £243,000 to £1,646,000 per mile.As the rest of the answer contains a number of figures, I will, with permission, circulate a table in the OFFICIAL REPORT.
§ Miss QuennellMay I thank the Parliamentary Secretary for that extremely interesting and revealing answer. Can he give any indication whether interest rates have been reflected in the increased costs of motorway construction, or whether S.E.T., which contractors have had to bear, has added to the cost?
Mr. BrownWithout going into specific details about extra costs, I can say that, taking all roads together, contract prices for road construction have increased by 60 per cent. since 1960.
§ Mr. FernyhoughCan my hon. Friend give the relative cost of land in 1960 as compared with 1968? Would it not be true to say that the soaring price of land has added considerably to these costs?
Mr. BrownI cannot give the specific facts that my hon. Friend has asked for, but I can say that something in excess of 5 per cent. of the cost is reflected in land costs. It is fair to say on the figures that I have quoted to the hon. Lady that the cost of land for a dual two-lane is in excess of £11,000, rising to £52,000 per mile.
| RURAL MOTORWAYS (ENGLAND) CONSTRUCTION COSTS PER MILE EXCLUDING LAND | ||||||||
| Year in which Contract let | Dual 2 Lane Motorways £m. | Number of Contracts | Dual 3 Lane Motorways £m. | Number of Contracts | ||||
| 1960 | … | … | … | … | .254 to .308 | 2 | .253 to 1.194 | 8 |
| 1961 | … | … | … | … | .229 to .567 | 4 | .448 to .576 | 3 |
| 1962 | … | … | … | … | — | — | .243 to .775 | 6 |
| 1963 | … | … | … | … | .418 to .892 | 3 | .541 to .813 | 4 |
| 1964 | … | … | … | … | .592 | 1 | .651 to 1.010 | 2 |
| 1965 | … | … | … | … | .558 to 1.048 | 2 | .660 to 1.035 | 6 |
| 1966 | … | … | … | … | .590 to .633 | 2 | .728 to 1.646 | 7 |
| 1967 | … | … | … | … | .529 to .732 | 2 | .609 to 1.247 | 5 |
| 1968 | … | … | … | … | .941 | 1 | .655 to 1.063 | 14 |
§ NOTES:
§ 1. Figures quoted are those ruling at date contract was let.
§ 2. Where costs are based on more than one contract, the range is given between lowest and highest
§ 3. Sections of elevated motorway not included.
§ 25. Mr. Crouchasked the Minister of Transport if he will publish the approximate average cost, excluding land acquisition, of building one mile of motorway through an urban area for each of the years from 1960 to 1968, inclusive.
Mr. Bob BrownCosts vary so much depending on the particular location, that average costs are liable to be misleading Over the years in question, the costs per mile for construction of urban motorways excluding land acquisition, were in the following range: for dual three-lane motorways, £905,000 to £4,300,000 per mile. As the rest of the Answer contains a number of figures. I will, with permission, circulate a table in the OFFICIAL REPORT.
§ Mr. CrouchNow that the Minister has had some notice of the information we want about the effects of S.E.T. and the Land Commission in this context, would he please let me know—if he cannot do so today, then by letter—what effect S.E.T. and the charges of the Land
§ The cost of land for a dual three lane road is in excess of £12,000, rising to £82,000 per mile.
§ Mr. MaudlingMy hon. Friend asked two very specific questions about interest rate and S.E.T. The Minister has made no attempt to answer either. Will he try to do so?
Mr. BrownI am sure that the right hon. Gentleman realises, without putting on that synthetic indignation, that this is the type of question of which I should require notice.
§ Following is the information:
§ Commission have had on these escalating figures?
Mr. BrownSince the hon. Gentleman has been courteous enough to phrase his supplementary question in that way, I will write to him on the subject. If my hon. Friend the Member for Jarrow (Mr. Fernyhough) has a mind to write to me on the subject, I will write to him, too.
§ Mr. MappConsidering the urban nature of the Question, would my hon. Friend outline the costs of motorway building including land? Would he agree that the overall cost would be considerably higher than the figures he gave in an earlier Answer about agricultural land?
Mr. BrownThe costs in urban areas are, of course, decidedly greater than the costs in rural areas. Perhaps my hon. Friend would write to me if he has a particular point in mind.
§ Mr. JayWhat is the cost per mile of the London motorway projects contained in the total given by my hon. Friend?
§ Mr. Michael HeseltineIn view of the galloping cost of motorway construction resealed by the figures which the hon. Gentleman has given, was not the Answer of his right hon. Friend about the amount of money being spent on road construction totally misleading and in truth the Government's increase in spending in this sphere is not matched by the increase in road building?
Mr. BrownI do not accept that the figures given by my right hon. Friend. particularly when he said that about £1 million a day was being spent, were misleading. If comparisons are to be made between the money that we have spent on motorway construction and that spent by the Tories when they were in office, we would see tremendous increases which they might well claim to be dishonest simply because hon. Gentlemen opposite were spending almost nothing.
§ Following is the table:
| URBAN MOTORWAYS (ENGLAND) CONSTRUCTION COSTS PER MILE EXCLUDING LAND | |||||
| Year in which Contract let | Dual 2 Lane Motorways £m. | Number of Contracts | Dual 3 Lane Motorways £m. | Number of Contracts | |
| 1961 | … | .745 | 1 | ||
| 1962 | … | .909 | 1 | ||
| 1964 | … | .905 to 2.492 | 3 | ||
| 1967 | … | 1.172 to 3.369 | 4 | ||
| 1968 | … | .995 to 4.300 | 6 |
§ Notes:
§ 1. Figures quoted are those ruling at date contract was let.
§ 2. No Ministry contracts were let for urban motorways for the years 1960, 1963, 1965, 1966.
§ 3. Where costs are based on more than one contract, the range is given between lowest and highest.
§ 4. Sections of elevated motorway not included.