HC Deb 19 May 1971 vol 817 cc1260-1
24. Mr. James Johnson

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment what further progress he has made in examining disposal procedure regarding disused railway lines; and what consultation he has had with interested bodies.

Mr. Graham Page

We have completed our discussions with the interested parties and will be announcing our proposals soon.

Mr. Johnson

I thank the Minister for that answer. Is it not a fact that since Dr. Beeching wielded his vicious axe more than 5,000 miles of line have been closed and that banks, once the homes of butterflies and flowers of all kinds—daisies and the like—are now becoming covered in coarse vegetation? Will he open them again for the benefit of walkers, pony riders and cyclists and do his best to save them?

Mr. Page

Yes, indeed. We are anxious to seize the opportunities offered by these lines becoming available for recreation and so on. As an ex-chairman of the Pedestrians Association, I am very keen to use them for the best possible purpose.

Mr. Cant

May I invite the attention of my hon. Friend the Member for Kingston upon Hull, West (Mr. James Johnson) to a much more efficient local authority, Stoke-on-Trent, which has not only acquired a high proportion of these disused railway lines from British Rail, and mineral lines, but has transformed them, with Government grants, into things of great natural beauty?

Mr. Page

I sincerely congratulate Stoke-on-Trent on its initiative. I hope that other local authorities will follow its example.

Mr. Heffer

Will the Minister draw the attention of the Liverpool and Bootle local authorities to the disused railway line which runs through my constituency into Bootle and is causing a great deal of upset to the local population because of the rubbish and so on which has been tipped on it? This could be made into a very nice pedestrian pathway. As he comes from the area, perhaps the Minister will draw the attention of those authorities to the possibilities for the use of this line.

Mr. Page

I am conscious of this matter as the line runs not only through the hon. Gentleman's constituency but right into mine.