HC Deb 24 April 1975 vol 890 cc1877-86

10.10 p.m.

Mr. Donald Anderson (Swansea, East)

I wish to raise the case for the speedy completion of the M4 motorway into West Wales. I had selected this topic some few days before my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State announced that, despite the Budget cuts, the programme for this motorway was to remain intact. I should like to think that was cause and effect, but it probably was not. It was clearly a substantial victory in the Cabinet by my right hon. Friend. Indeed, he will have the gratitude of all the people of South and West Wales for that victory and for stating so equivocally following the Budget announcement that the M4 is his personal top priority. In the light of the strong personal commitment of my right hon. Friend, I see it as my task tonight to underline the case for speed in completing the M4 and to ask some specific questions. In my view, the utmost priority is for Wales to be linked speedily to the national motorway network.

I recall that in the late 1960s it was said that there was a firm target date for the completion of the motorway as far as Pontardulais by 1976. That target date is now clearly unobtainable. There has been a slippage in the programme.

I should like to know what, in present circumstances, is the anticipated completion date of that motorway. In addition, I should like to know where the Welsh Office expect the terminal point of the motorway to be. It is still said that Pontardulais is the terminal point. It was thought that, simultaneous with the motorway reaching Pontardulais, a two-lane highway would be pushed beyond that place with the Carmarthen and the St. Clears bypasses. In this context I should like to know whether the motorway is to be extended, and whether it will be extended into Pembrokeshire.

At present the motorway extends only as far as Tredegar Park. The remaining section of the road beyond Tredegar Park is in large part three lanes with the inevitable pile ups where the three lanes narrow to two lanes, and often at bends.

There have been piecemeal developments meeting strong local needs at the Port Talbot bypass and the Morriston bypass which have served to relieve local congestion but have not fulfilled the primary function of linking West Wales as a whole to the national motorway network.

The section of the motorway immediately projected on both sides of Cardiff will, in the short term, serve only to increase congestion in Cardiff itself.

The basic problem remains. The journey from London to Newport, in the county of Gwent, which is 150 miles, takes two and a half hours by road. The journey from Newport to Swansea there- after, which is 60 miles, takes one and a half hours by road. There is a glaring disproportion in journey times. A businessman from Swansea writing to me recently put the issue this way: If I tell you of my own frustration of the drive from Swansea to Cardiff which has now deteriorated to a best of 55 minutes, and averaging by choosing the best times of the day to avoid steelworkers in Port Talbot coming and going, business traffic and heavy lorries between 6.45 a.m. and 9.00 a.m., and 4.00 p.m. to 6.00 p.m., still means 55 minutes to an hour and if you have to travel in the times I have quoted you can be anything up to an hour and a half for a journey of only 46 miles to the Eastern Bypass. For those business men in West Wales who rely extensively on the proximity of Heathrow Airport for their international flight links, the journey time is crucial and far too long. Rhoose Airport, our local airport, has improved substantially, but there is still one hour's driving time to it to pick up European flights.

When the motorway is completed what will be the effect on West Wales as a whole? Swansea, already the regional capital of West Wales, will become even more the major service area for it. Completion will enable much speedier transfer between the steel works at Port Talbot and Velindre, which is vital for our steel industry. Again, separating regional from local traffic is likely to have a substantial effect on the local accident record, but most important is the enormous boost which the completion of the motorway will give to West Wales as an industrial area.

There is a danger in a Welsh context of having the relationship between the prosperous South-East of Wales and the rest of the Principality analogous to the danger of such a relationship between the prosperous South-East of England and the rest of England. At present Tredegar Park is the terminus in Wales, and that has both a physical and a psychological effect. Cardiff is regarded not only as the capital but as the centre of Wales. All good lines of communication currently end there.

British Rail boasts that when its new 125 mph trains come into operation next year they will cut 25 minutes off the journey time, but that is only the journey time for the link between London and Cardiff. The section between Cardiff and Swansea will benefit only indirectly. Cardiff is not geographically central but is very much on the eastern periphery of Wales.

There are very important effects on industrial location. In its discussions in preparation for its county structure plan, West Glamorgan County Council has been impressed by the fact that access to a good transport network is a major factor in location decisions. It is a matter not just of speed and turn-round of traffic, but of a change of perception in the minds of those who take the location decision. The whole area seems to be brought much closer than was previously thought. It makes West Wales appear to be nearer. That part of Wales is the development area closest to the South-East of England. The completion of the M4 will buttress existing industry and make it more competitive. It will also provide the necessary infrastructure for attracting new industry, and I am thinking in particular of preparations for Celtic Sea oil developments. The potential for that development could be slowed down substantially unless there is a good through road to Pembroke.

I accept that the current projections about exploration for oil in the Celtic Sea are somewhat pessimistic. Yet, with increasing prices of oil and possible future OPEC embargoes, there is a clear national need for us to be geared up and prepared as quickly as possible. My hon. Friend might say what are the current assessments and projections within the Welsh Office for Celtic Sea oil development.

Many orders for modules for North Sea platforms are already going to our Continental competitors and to manufacturing units in Ireland. But the Motherwell Bridge Company at Swansea and Intep Limited at Pembroke Dock, a real success story, prove that South Wales is an area where this activity can be started from scratch. There are already two important offshore construction companies working in West Wales. There is plenty of business to be won in this field, attracted to South Wales by our skilled work force and good industrial relations.

I envisage a time when Swansea will be the capital of Celtic Sea oil development. The potential is enormous, but the major benefits to West Wales can be realised only when the links between Swansea and Newport, the remaining sections of the motorway, are completed. Swansea and West Wales as a whole have been patient for far too long. We have put up with poor communications, and have achieved success in spite of them. I am delighted that the priorities of the Welsh Office are right and that the completion of the motorway will play a key rôle in the development of West Wales.

10.22 p.m.

The Under-Secretary of State for Wales (Mr. Barry Jones)

I am grateful to my hon. Friend the Member for Swansea, East (Mr. Anderson) for raising this important matter. I am conscious that he is keenly aware that the fortunes of his city in the years ahead are in great part dependent on the M4.

My hon. Friend referred to the importance of the M4 to the economy and to queries about the programming of the M4. He also raised matters to do with the Celtic Sea. I shall try to reply to those points briefly, and I hope to get on record information about the progress of the M4.

As to the potential economic benefits of the M4, I entirely agree that good roads are a catalyst to other regional measures. That is why my hon. Friend is battling so hard for his area. The M4 is a special case in point. It forms a vital part of the regional strategy that the Welsh Office is pursuing. It is an artery which, when completed, will run through the heart of industrial South Wales. There is no doubt that South Wales has a basically attractive position. With the M4, it is in a better position in relation to the Midlands and the South-East than any other development area.

I appreciate my hon. Friend's concern about the problems of his business man constituent and others. I noted what he said about the steel works and the importance of steel production in his part of the country. I accept his point about Heathrow Airport.

The Welsh Office sees the terminus of the M4 as Pont Abraham. We shall then improve the A48 and A40 to the west of St. Clears. The target completion date depends on the statutory procedures. I am sorry that I cannot go further than that at this stage. On completion of the motorway, we expect to reduce the journey time from Newport to Swansea to less than an hour.

Let me emphasise, too, that in the view of my right hon. and learned Friend the Secretary of State for Wales, the completion of the M4 across South Wales is the prime objective of the Welsh road programme. We give it first priority, and that is despite the current financial stringency.

My hon. Friend mentioned oil. He has rightly stressed the importance of the M4 to Celtic Sea exploration. I entirely accept that, because the provision of good roads is vital both during the exploration stage for Celtic Sea oil and for its eventual exploitation. The Government are aware of the importance of this point. Indeed, it is but—although a very important one —of the many economic arguments that we have deployed in our Department—both in Government and in Opposition—for the M4, which is so essential for the economic health not only of West Wales but the whole of South Wales.

I want to give some details of progress on the M4. My hon. Friend may recollect that in July 1967 the M4 was extended only as far west as Tredegar Park. Today, the proposals for M4 extend as far west as Pont Abraham, in Dyfed.

With the opening of the Morriston bypass between Peniel Green and Llangyfelach in August 1972, the mileage of motorway in use increased from 23 miles to 27 miles and today there are a further 13 miles under construction. Work on the Pontardulais bypass, which started in August 1974, is expected to be finished by the end of 1976. There will then be 21 miles of continuous dual carriageway road between Groes, Margam and Pont Abraham, west of Pontardulais. This in itself will be a very worthwhile achievement in improving communications within the urban and industrial complex—an area my hon. Friend knows so well—comprising Port Talbot, Neath, Swansea and Llanelli.

I know that my hon. Friend is patriotic enough to see his city as a potential regional capital. Swansea, in particular, will benefit both from the M4 and from the recently completed Aberdulais-Llandarcy and Glyn Neath bypass sections of the A465 trunk road, to which the M4 and the A48 is connected. This latter route offers improved access via the Heads of the Valleys Road to the Midlands and the North as well as offering an alternative route to the motorway system to London and the South-East.

A start of work has also been made this month on the first stage of the Pyle bypass, extending eastwards from Groes for a further four and a half miles to the vicinity of Pyle, which is now the worst remaining bottleneck on A48 west of Cardiff. Later this year it is planned to invite tenders also for the second stage of Pyle bypass, which will complete the section of new motorway between Stormy Down and Groes before the end of the 1977.

Earlier this month my right hon. and learned Friend—and he did have a victory in Cabinet—asked the South Glamorgan and Mid Glamorgan County Councils, who are acting as his agents, to invite tenders for the length of motorway between the A470 at Coryton, Cardiff and Miskin and between Miskin and Pen-coed, from where access to the A48 can be regained by way of the A473 to the A48 at Waterton Cross, Bridgend. Provided acceptable tenders are received it is hoped that work on these sections will be started in September 1975 and be carried out in about two years.

My right hon. and learned Friend also expects to invite tenders in the near future for the length between Tredegar Park and the new Eastern Avenue—A48 —which connects with the A470 at Gabalfa, Cardiff, about two miles south of Coryton. Again, provided acceptable tenders are received, work should start before the end of the year.

We are very conscious of the feasibility schemes—to use that phrase—in relation to traffic congestion in various parts near our capital city. Towards the end of next year, as the demand on resources from the sections of M4 then under construction is expected to pass its peak, I hope that it will be possible to invite tenders for the Bridgend Northern Bypass between Pencoed and Stormy Down with a view to starting work in the spring of 1977. This section of M4 has had to be deferred in the present difficult financial circumstances, but I am sure my hon. Friend will accept that the length of A48 between Waterton Cross and Stormy Down is generally of a much higher standard than the remainder of the A48 between Cardiff and Port Talbot. Construction of these sections will see the completion of a continuous dual carriageway, mainly motorway, road across South Wales from the Severn Bridge to Pont Abraham.

Only two lengths of the M4 will then remain uncompleted. Proposals for the line of the M4, Cardiff outer bypass between Castleton and Coryton were published in April 1974 and the inspector's report on the public inquiry into these orders is currently awaited. Until my right hon. and learned Friend has taken his decision on the route for this section and the remaining statutory procedures are completed, it is too early for me to say when a start on work could be made. Finally, there is the section between the end of the Port Talbot bypass at Baglan and the start of the Morriston bypass near Lonlas.

A public participation exercise seeking the views of the public on three feasible alternatives for the line of this section was held in November 1974. This exercise has given rise to considerable interest and discussion locally and the results are now being considered. My right hon. and learned Friend's decision on his choice of a preferred route will be announced as soon as possible so that the route he selects can be protected from development and investigated further with a view to the publication in due course of draft orders under the Highways Acts.

Mr. Anderson

I have heard nothing but praise in the Swansea area for this public participation exercise in democracy carried out by the Welsh Office.

Mr. Jones

I am grateful to my hon. Friend for that. The Department believes in these exercises.

I trust that the picture I have presented will dispel any notion of a leisurely approach toward the completion of the M4. When in opposition we recognised the need for an early extension of the M4 and, despite the unfavourable economic climate we inherited and the present need for retrenchment, it remains our aim to bring the remaining sections into use at the earliest possible moment.

Nevertheless, earlier difficulties in completing the statutory procedures, coupled with the very great increase in prices recently, have increased the demand which the M4 now makes on available resources; and this at a time when growth in the level of expenditure on highway projects must be contained. In these circumstances my right hon. and learned Friend has been able to give priority to the M4 only by severely curtailing expenditure over the next two years on other trunk road improvements. This curtailment includes the deferment of starts on all major schemes costing more than £1 million, with the exception of the Britannia Bridge crossing the Menai Straits. My hon. Friend might agree that this is a high price to pay.

The completion of the M4 is an illustration of the determination of the Government to tackle the persistent regional problems through the pursuance of a vigorous regional policy and improved infrastructure.I know that my hon. Friend is interested in and keen on matters such as these. The M4 is an essential and highly relevant element in the removal of the basic causes of chronic unemployment. It will make available for the benefit of the national economy the reserves of labour and skill to be found in the South Wales development areas which have three quarters of the total population of the Principality.

In view of the interest which I know my hon. Friend is taking in this vitally urgent project I should, if he wishes, be pleased to arrange with my officials for him and other hon. Members to visit the works in progress at Pyle and Pontardulais. As for his remarks about accidents. I extend to him a welcome to study some of the maps and diagrams which are available to me in my Department.

Question put and agreed to

Adjourned accordingly at twenty-four minutes to Eleven o'clock.