§ 12.5 am
§ Mr. William Hague (Richmond, Yorks)I have the honour to present a humble but weighty petition signed in a two-week period by 7,049 people principally from in and around Wensleydale in my constituency. The petition is supported by eight local organisations, being the Wensleydale Environmental Supporters, the Wensleydale Railway Association, the Wensleydale Rotary Club, the Wensleydale and Swaledale branches of the Council for the Protection of Rural England, the Cleveland and North Yorkshire branches of Transport 2000 and the Yorkshire Dales Society.
It relates to the intention of British Steel to transport 1,400 tonnes of limestone daily from Redmire quarry in Wensleydale to the British Steel Teesside works by road rather than by rail, as at present, and it expresses concern about road safety, traffic congestion and the future of the environment. It states the opposition of the local community to the planned transfer from rail to road of the freight.
The petition adds:
Wherefore your Petitioners pray that your honourable House urge the Secretary of State to make representations to British Steel that it shall not proceed with its declared intention to transfer limestone shipments between Redmire and Redcar from rail to road transport and to ensure that British Rail actively promotes the use of the railway from Northallerton to Redmire for both freight and passenger traffic.And your Petitioners, as in duty bound, will ever pray.
§ To lie upon the Table.