HC Deb 21 May 1984 vol 60 c673
13. Mr. Baldry

asked the Secretary of State for Transport if he is satisfied that the A423 road between Oxford and Banbury is adequate for the weight and volume of traffic that it carries.

Mrs. Chalker

No, Sir. My hon. Friend is aware of our proposals for extending the M40, which would substantially reduce traffic on the A423.

Mr. Baldry

Is my hon. Friend aware that the people of north Oxfordshire would be relieved if the Government gave a definite commitment to constructing the M40? We do not want to hear my hon. Friend say, "If the M40 goes ahead." We want a definite commitment that it will go ahead. As my hon. Friend well knows, the trunk road is deplorable and, as my hon. Friend the Member for Warwick and Leamington (Sir D. Smith) has mentioned, we have been waiting about 15 years for the M40, during which time no real improvements to that trunk road have been made. Is my hon. Friend aware that I was also disturbed to hear her say that the M40 would not start until 1987? I thought that it was to be in the trunk road programme from 1986.

Mrs. Chalker

I cannot give my hon. Friend the assurance that work will start in 1986, but he knows as well as I do that, should the inspector recommend that we go forward with that plan, we shall start as soon as possible. I accept that conditions on the A423 are far from satisfactory. We are carrying out an accident and congestion study to identify any action that can be implemented before the M40 becomes a reality for his, and many other, constituents.

Mr. Michael Morris

Is my hon. Friend aware that the problems of that part of the country are on not only a north-south but an east-west axis? When assessing the A423, will she also have a close look at the A43, which is even more congested?

Mrs. Chalker

I am well aware of the need for improvement at Blisworth and many other places along the A43. There are a number of plans in the White Paper. In the past two years schemes have been brought forward to add to the improvements planned for the A43, which should help to release some of my hon. Friend's constituents from those traffic jams.