§ Motion made, and Question proposed, That this House do now adjourn.—[Mr. Concannon.]
§ 10.10 p.m.
§ Mr. Humphrey Atkins (Merton and Morden)For six hours, we have been considering matters of great importance outside this country. Now, for half an hour, I want to ask the House to direct its attention to a matter which is very much more local but which nevertheless is of considerable importance and concern to my constituents.
Kingston Road in South-West London is a main thoroughfare running through Clapham, Tooting, and Merton to Kingston. It is marked as the A238 on the Ministry of Transport's maps. For part of its length, its northern boundary is in my constituency, and it is to that part which I want to ask the Minister to direct his attention this evening.
The road is crossed by a level crossing near Hartfield Road, S.W.19, which means that half the main road and half the level crossing are in my constituency, with the remainder in that of my hon. Friend the Member for Wimbledon (Sir C. Black), who I am glad to see in his place this evening.
This level crossing on a main road out of London has caused traffic difficulties for many years. The Merton and Morden Urban District Council has had in mind the need for improvement for a very long time. I am told that the possibility of improving the traffic conditions at this level crossing was first considered as long ago as 1936. In other words the local authority over 30 years ago considered that the traffic difficulties were such that something should be done, and hon. Members can readily understand that, if there were traffic difficulties 30 years ago, they are immeasurably increased today. I would say, in fact, that the difficulties are now appalling.
At this point, Kingston Road is only wide enough for one lane of road traffic in each direction, and the level crossing is similarly restricted. Naturally, the problems are worst at the morning and evening rush hours, not only because 1698 wheeled traffic on the road is at its height at those times, but because there are more trains carrying people to and from work in London, requiring the level crossing to be closed more often just at the moment when wheeled traffic on the road requires it to be open for longer periods.
It is no exaggeration to say that at times in the morning and evening rush hours there are queues of traffic up to a mile in length. This in turn affects the side roads leading off Kingston Road, which are almost entirely residential. With traffic bumper to bumper along the main roads, residents seeking to emerge from the side roads in which they live find it virtually impossible to do so.
The problem has been recognised locally for a very long time, and suggestions have been made for improvements. This has not been very easy in the past, partly because there have been five bodies involved in any scheme for improvement: the Merton and Morden Urban District Council, the Wimbledon Borough Council, the Surrey County Council, British Railways, and the Ministry of Transport. Admittedly this is somewhat easier in present times in that, with the reorganisation of local government, there are now only four bodies involved instead of five: the Merton Borough Council, the Greater London Council, British Railways and the Ministry of Transport.
In 1960, a scheme was submitted to the Ministry for making improvements at this crossing. This scheme was sent back and the local authority was told to revise it because it did not meet the requirements of the Ministry of Transport. In February, 1961, another scheme was submitted. This, in its turn, was sent back in July, 1961, with a request for still further revision.
However, eventually in 1963 the Merton and Morden Urban District Council was told that the scheme which it had most recently submitted was included in the first part of the Ministry of Transport's rolling programme for 1965–1968. The then Minister of Transport, my right hon. Friend the Member for Wallasey (Mr. Marples) told me verbally and in a letter dated 28th July, 1964.
The way is now clear for the scheme to be pushed ahead without delay.1699 All that has happened since then is, first, that further alterations have had to be made to this improvement scheme, and, secondly, that the starting date for the scheme has been pushed further into the future.The latest announcement by the Greater London Council is that this scheme will now start in the middle of 1973. In other words, five years ago the latest starting date for this scheme was four years ahead. Now, five years later, the starting date is still four years ahead. So it can truthfully be said that during the last five years no progress whatever has been made.
I recognise that all the blame does not lie with the Ministry of Transport. Other factors have intervened. Perhaps the most notable is the local government reorganisation in London which has replaced the Merton and Morden Urban District Council and the Wimbledon Borough Council with the council of the London Borough of Merton, and Surrey County Council with the Greater London Council in our area. There has also been some delay due to British Railways, to which I will refer in a moment. Nevertheless, some responsibility undoubtedly lies with the hon. Gentleman's Department, if only because in the end his Department supplies the greater part of the money.
I should like to emphasise again that 13 years have elapsed between the submission of the scheme in July 1960 by the Merton and Morden Urban District Council and the starting date of mid-1973. This tremendous delay has had two serious ill-effects upon my constituents and, I believe, upon the constituents of my hon. Friend the Member for Wimbledon.
The first, to which I have already referred, is the continuing increase in the traffic problem. Anyone who studies traffic in London knows that the amount of traffic grows year by year, and that if no road improvements are made then the delays and difficulties which I have described also grow year by year.
The second difficulty is that for a great part of this period it has been known that schemes are afoot for making substantial alterations to this level crossing which would involve a lot of residential property in the immediate area. What is commonly described as planning blight 1700 has affected a number of my constituents over many years.
On my side of Kingston Road—my hon. Friend will no doubt speak for his in a moment—there is a lot of residential property. Many of my constituents who wished to sell their houses have been unable to do so. They are quite ordinary people. Some of them are professional people. I know—so does the hon. Gentleman from the records in his Department—of no less than four doctors and a dentist. Indeed the hon. Gentleman has had correspondence from the Mother Superior of a convent. All these people, who wished either to develop or to sell their properties, have been unable to do so for many years. The House will well understand the hardship which can be caused by this kind of planning blight.
The present position is that three weeks ago the G.L.C. publicly announced a further delay in the implementation of the improvement scheme from 1972 to 1973. I applied at once to raise the matter on the Adjournment. Two weeks ago an entirely new scheme was announced by the G.L.C. This new scheme envisages the purchase by the G.L.C. of a stretch of railway belonging to British Railways, the loop from Merton Park to Tooting, which it seems they no longer require, and which the G.L.C. plans to convert into a road.
This is very good news, because those concerned with the matter, including myself, had thought of this a long time ago. Indeed, British Railways had been approached to see whether they would be prepared to sell this stretch of the railway, but in 1966 they said that they would not because they needed it. However, they have now changed their minds, and I am delighted, because this conversion of a stretch of railway track into a road will not only help to solve the problem at Merton Park level crossing, but will ease the problem a little further up the road towards London at the South Wimbledon Junction which is also the subject of further road schemes.
I want the Minister to do three things. First, will he tell the House precisely what is the present position regarding the improvement scheme for Merton Park level crossing, and also the South Wimbledon Junction? Secondly, will he recognise publicly that serious difficulties have been created for the people in the area, 1701 most of whom are my constituents? Thirdly, will he assure the House that he regards this improvement as long overdue and now urgent, and will he undertake that not only will he not put further obstructions in the way of this improvement being made, but will actively assist to bring this long overdue scheme about as soon as may be?
§ 10.23 p.m.
§ Sir Cyril Black (Wimbledon)I am grateful to have the oportunity for just a moment or two to associate myself with everything that has been said by my hon. Friend the Member for Merton and Morden (Mr. Humphrey Atkins). I think that he has stated the case clearly, and with moderation. I do not dissent from one word that he has said, and I think that the case has been very adequately deployed.
I have an almost equal constituency interest in this matter with my hon. Friend. I can claim a very long acquaintance with this problem, because I have lived in this part of the outer ring of London for about 50 years. I have served continuously on the local authority since 1942, and I was a member of Surrey County Council from 1943 to 1965, at a time when Surrey County Council was the major road authority for this area.
It is almost impossible to exaggerate the delays, the nuisance, and the frustration caused by the traffic conditions at this level crossing, and in addition to the terrible delays to which road users are subjected there is the serious problem of planning blight, to which my hon. Friend referred.
During my long period on the local authority there have been many occasions on which efforts have been made to get action on this matter, and at various times it has seemed as though something promising was about to take place, but as time has passed the prospect of action has seemed to recede further and further into the future, instead of coming nearer as one would hope.
I am not concerned to try to assign responsibility. My hon. Friend is right to say that the responsibility for these long delays does not rest with any one authority, but is shared by several. But that is not what my hon. Friend and I are concerned about. We are anxious not 1702 to assign responsibility for what has-happened in the past, but to get some definite assurance for action, and action now. The year 1973 is, to our constituents, a completely unacceptable starting date for the beginning of an amelioration of these conditions. I hope that the Minister will be able to give categorical and satisfactory assurances in response to the questions which my hon. Friend has addressed to him.
§ 10.26 p.m.
The Joint Parliamentary Secretary to the Ministry of Transport (Mr. Bob Brown)The hon. Member for Merton and Morden (Mr. Humphrey Atkins) and his hon. Friend the Member for Wimbledon (Sir C. Black) have referred to the length of time these highway proposals at Merton Park Level Crossing have been under consideration. It may be of help to the House if I just summarise events as we see them.
The A238 is a principal road running from Kingston-upon-Thames to Merton. It forms, with A298, a link between the Worthing Road, the A24 and the Portsmouth Road, the A3. It is used extensively by traffic bound for central London as an alternative to the A3.
The level crossing to which the hon. Member refers is on the A238 near Merton Park railway station; the secondary route, the B285 also uses this level crossing, which was constructed in about 1855 as part of the Wimbledon-Croydon railway. For 60 years there have been attempts to do away with this level crossing because of the delays which it causes to traffic. Unfortunately these attempts have not been successful, for various reasons.
Serious discussions were started between Surrey County Council and the Ministry as far back as 1929 when we agreed to the appointment of a consulting engineer. Eventually a scheme was agreed for raising the railway as a single line on a viaduct above this crossing and another in Dundonald Road, but the war, of course, prevented it being carried out. The post-war scheme was revived in 1954 but then met the serious financial restrictions of the day, which caused it to be deferred. By 1958 the traffic difficulties had become so acute that it was clear that the scheme should be proceeded with as a matter of urgency. 1703 Between then and 1965 discussions and consultations took place between the Ministry, the county council and the Merton and Morden Urban District Council.
In 1960 plans and details were submitted to us of a scheme to raise the railway on a viaduct and to provide a roundabout at road level. In May, 1963, we were able to provide in our rolling programme for the period 1965–68 for a scheme to eliminate this level crossing at an estimated cost of £2 million. When the right hon. Member for Wallasey (Mr. Marples) was the Minister, and wrote to the hon. Gentleman, our engineers were not convinced that the council's proposals—complicated by the need to keep the line in operation while it was being raised—would provide the best solution and asked that alternatives be investigated. The urban district council, with our approval and the agreement of British Railways, appointed Messrs. Mott, Hay & Anderson as consulting engineers to carry out this investigation.
With the reorganisation of local government in London, on 1st April, 1965, the London Borough of Merton became the local authority for the area and the highway authority for the secondary route, B285. Kingston Road, A238, however, became a metropolitan principal road, with the Greater London Council as highway authority.
The G.L.C. was at that time concerned to review all the schemes to improve metropolitan principal roads which it had inherited from the former highway authorities. Moreover, it had become known that British Railways might be contemplating the closure of the line to Merton station. If that had happened, the proposed scheme would have become redundant through the removal of the level crossing. It was not until October, 1966, that British Railways finally confirmed that there was no prospect of the line being closed within the foreseeable future.
The next difficulty was that the recommended scheme would affect two buildings on the statutory list of buildings of historic and architectural interest. This entailed the preparation of alternative draft schemes which would avoid these buildings. In March, 1967, the consultants were asked to report further on one 1704 of these schemes, which they did in June, 1967. At the end of that month the G.L.C. approved the scheme in principle subject to consultation with the interested authorities.
Efforts to reach a satisfactory solution continued, and we agreed to retain the scheme in the grant programme. It was apparent, however, that land acquisition would be a lengthy process and there could be little prospect of the works being started before the middle of 1972. In June, 1968, we were able to advise the G.L.C. that its plans for the improvement were technically acceptable as the basis for an application for a 75 per cent. grant towards its cost.
I should, perhaps explain that the G.L.C. has two other schemes to improve the A238 in the London Borough of Merton. The first is to construct a roundabout at South Wimbledon station at the junction of the A238 with the A24 and the A219. In 1964 we added this scheme to the programme for 1968–69. The second is to widen Merton High Street, the A238.
This brings the story up to the present. However, as the hon. Member for Merton and Morden said, a fresh factor has emerged during the past few weeks. This is the very distinct possibility that British Rail may be able to dispense with the single track railway line between Merton Park and Tooting. This is at present used only for goods traffic.
G.L.C. officials consider that the land occupied by this line and its associated sidings could be used for the construction of a new road, which would enable much of the A238 traffic to avoid Merton High Street and the road junction at South Wimbledon station. The advantage of building such a road is that the extensive demolition of property on the existing line of the A238 in Merton would not be necessary and a much simpler scheme could be adopted to deal with the level crossing.
I am told that the present position is that officers of British Rail have agreed to discuss with the G.L.C. the possible release of this land, and on what terms. If all goes well with these discussions, the G.L.C. hopes to be able to put firm proposals to my Department by the summer of this year.
As hon. Members are concerned that the new proposals will further delay a 1705 scheme to deal with the level crossing at Merton, I assure the House that we expect that the proposed new road, including an underpass on the site of the present level crossing, will take less time than would be needed for the three schemes at present programmed. Furthermore, we hope that the overall cost will now be appreciably less.
Reference was also made to the traffic problem at South Wimbledon station. We appreciate that the traffic management scheme in operation at this junction as an interim measure is not liked by residents. It involves the use of side roads and streets which were neither designed nor intended for the use of through traffic. Nevertheless, these are public roads and it is essential that we make the best use of them, at least until time and money can be devoted to alternative means of meeting the needs of traffic.
The prospect of a new route being provided which will drain off so much of the traffic which at present has to use this junction offers hope of relief to these residents. I do not suggest that a rural calm is likely to settle on this junction, but the need for through traffic to be diverted through side roads will certainly disappear when the new route is available.
I understand, meanwhile, that the London Borough of Merton has suggested some modifications of the existing traffic management arrangements at the junction. The G.L.C., as traffic authority, will doubtless give careful consideration to the borough's suggestions.
Finally, I should like to deal with the reference by the hon. Member for Merton and Morden to the problem of blight.
When it is known that a road is to be improved, but without details of the 1706 improvement, owners and occupiers of property along the route are inevitably affected by uncertainty about the effects of the works. This uncertainty is removed only when the improvement scheme has been worked out in detail and the extent of any necessary property acquisition precisely determined.
We assist in this respect by accepting for immediate grant the cost of land acquired in advance by a highway authority for a programmed scheme of which we have approved the outline. This position was reached in respect of the level crossing scheme in June, 1968, but not yet for the proposed roundabout at South Wimbledon station or for the widening in Merton High Street.
As soon as the proposed new road along the railway has been agreed in principle, this blight will be removed from the A238, except in the vicinity of the level crossing. I am quite sure, however, that the Greater London Council will lose no time in designing the works that will be needed for the construction of an underpass so as to resolve these remaining doubts. For our part, we will certainly not delay our consideration of the acceptance into our programme of the revised scheme in place of the existing programme schemes for the route.
I sympathise very much with residents of Merton and with drivers who have suffered so long from the acute traffic congestion at the Kingston Road level crossing, and in the vicinity of South Wimbledon station. It seems, however—I am sure that both hon. Members will be as pleased as I am—that a solution more satisfactory than could have been foreseen in the past is now almost within reach.
§ Question put and agreed to.
§ Adjourned accordingly at twenty-three minutes to Eleven o'clock.