§ Mr. Archie Hamilton (Epsom and Ewell)With your permission, Mr. Speaker, and that of the House, I beg leave to present a petition from a number of my constituents urging the deferral of the building of any further sections of the M25 road.
You may remember, Mr. Speaker, that I presented a petition not very long ago 927 urging that the M25 should be completed as soon as possible. There is a certain contradiction here. The House might be interested to know my view on this matter. It is one of sustained and remorseless ambivalence. Uncomfortable as it may be to sit on the fence, it is certainly much more uncomfortable in this case to get off it.
The petition reads:
To the Honourable the Commons of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland in Parliament assembled.The humble Petition of residents of Leather-head and Ashtead,SHEWETHThat the construction of any further sections of the M25 should be deferred until more is known of the effects on local roads and of the effects, particularly on children, of emissions from vehicles;That the cost benefit analysis and traffic predictions which have been made are substantially inaccurate, and that an independent audit of the data on which they are based is needed;That the estimated £440 million (at 1977 prices) which the scheme is to cost would be better spent on restoring resources cut from hospitals, education and other social services, and from road maintenance.Wherefore your Petitioners pray that your Honourable House will by all possible means support the deferment of further construction on the M25 until more is known of the effects on local roads and of the effects, particularly on children, of emissions from vehicles.And your Petitioners, as in duty bound, will ever pray.This petition and a similarly worded petition are signed by 1,625 of my constituents.
§ To lie upon the Table.