§ Mr. Michael Jopling (Westmorland and Lonsdale)I have the honour to present to the House a petition sent to me by my constituent, Mr. Cook, of Ambleside. You will know, Madam Speaker, that Ambleside is one of the great jewels of the Lake district. The petition has been put together by Mr. Cook and eight stalwart canvassers. They have approached, or tried to contact, virtually all my 2,250 constituents who are on the electoral roll in Ambleside. They succeeded in contacting 1,314 people—that is, 58.4 per cent. of the total electoral roll.
The petition is about the need to construct a bypass round Ambleside. The petition says:
The excessive volume of traffic on the A591 road through our town is causing unacceptable levels of congestion, noise, pollution and delay, making the everyday commerce of the town difficult, dangerous and unpleasant for its residents, and further threatening its prosperity by rendering it unattractive to the visitors on whom its economic wellbeing depends.Of the 1,314 people approached, no fewer than 1,046—that is, 79.6 per cent.—voted for a bypass, compared with 188, or 14.3 per cent., who were against, and 80, or 6.1 per cent., who abstained.This is a remarkable petition. It means that those who expressed their desire to have a bypass constituted 46.5 per cent. of the total electorate. Their purpose was to demonstrate to the House their hope that the petition would finally enshrine the overwhelming desire of the people of Ambleside to put a stop to the appalling traffic congestion in that beautiful town, and that a bypass would be constructed.
The petition ends:
Wherefore your petitioners pray that your honourable House will take measures to require the highway authority, Cumbria county council, to initiate the construction of a bypass road following the route described as the orange route in that council's 1992 consultative documents, and your petitioners, as in duty bound, will ever pray.
§ To lie upon the Table.