HC Deb 10 June 1997 vol 295 cc1047-54

Motion made, and Question proposed, That this House do now adjourn.—[Mr. Jamieson.]

10.16 pm
Mr. Elfyn Llwyd (Meirionnydd Nant Conwy)

May I, first, use this opportunity to congratulate the Minister sincerely on his appointment? I do so in the confidence that he will wish to do his utmost to carry out his duties to the best of his considerable ability. I believe that, by unblocking the conundrum that I shall shortly unfold to the House, he will have a golden opportunity to do that. I hope that he will grasp that opportunity and really make a name for himself.

This morning, I had an opportunity to consult "The Shorter Oxford English Dictionary." The word "temporary" is defined as Lasting or meant to last for a limited time only; not permanent; made or arranged to supply a passing need. The dictionary continues: Things belonging to this life, temporal goods. That is probably a better definition in the context of the appalling story of the A494.

I am pleased to have an opportunity to discuss this matter. It is not trivial; it means a lot to many thousands of people in Wales and certainly a large proportion of my constituency. The traffic lights concerned, on the A494 at Drws y Nant—yes, Hansard, I will send up a copy of my speech—are temporary traffic lights, according to the Welsh Office. In fact, they have been in place for more than 18 years and may yet become the subject of a comic opera. That may sound a little far-fetched; indeed, if it were not such a serious matter, it would be quite funny. In reality, it is anything but funny for thousands of people day in, day out.

It might help the Minister if I am permitted to give a brief chronology of the matter. The lights were installed in 1979, on boxing day, because the road was considered unsafe and prone to subsidence, posing a possible danger to road users. The road was therefore closed 20 years ago for "urgent" repairs.

To be absolutely fair, however, the stretch of road is not the easiest to repair because, on one side, there is a steep drop and, on the other, there is steep and rocky terrain. None the less, over the past few years far more difficult engineering feats have been accomplished in north and mid-Wales, and there is no question but that, given the necessary will, the situation could readily be remedied.

From 1979 to 1986, many individuals, councils and societies regularly wrote to the Welsh Office pointing out the inherent dangers in allowing the road to be used as it was being used, albeit temporary traffic lights and a one-way system had been installed. Over the years, there have been numerous very serious accidents at the spot, which is so narrow that a collision will almost inevitably result if a bus or lorry meets another vehicle on a bend. Many very experienced drivers have been involved in very serious collisions on that road.

I travelled the road from my home to my office almost every day from 1979 until I was elected as Member of Parliament, and I can vouch for the inherent danger of the current system. Moreover, on countless occasions I have had to wait in traffic jams, some lasting as long as one hour, as two vehicles attempted to manoeuvre past one another without colliding with each other, the rock face or the wall. If one of the vehicles is in a hurry, nothing short of a calamity will occur.

When I was in legal practice, I often arrived late for court appearances because of the state of the road. I am making, however, not a personal plea but a plea on behalf of many thousands of people in my constituency. The current situation is dangerous because, as people are released from the traffic jam, their normal tendency is to exceed the speed limit to make up time, thereby causing a knock-on effect and danger to all road users.

My predecessor in the House, Dr. Dafydd Elis Thomas, who is now in the other place, assiduously pursued the problem in attempting to persuade the Welsh Office to attach due priority to a solution. The former Gwynedd county council regularly made representations to the Welsh Office, as did—to give but a few examples—Bala town council, Brithdir and Llanfrchrath community council, Dolgellau town council, Llanuwchllwn community council, Meirionnydd district council, the Farmers Union of Wales and the National Farmers Union of England and Wales. The correspondence file is huge, and it confirms the priority that at least the people of Meirionnydd attach to the matter even if, hitherto, the Welsh Office has not.

In October 1987, the then Minister of State at the Welsh Office responded to an inquiry from my predecessor, stating that a solution would be a matter of prioritising schemes within the Welsh Office budget. He also stated that it would be unrealistic to expect improvements until sometime in "the early 1990s".

In January 1988, in a letter to Mr. John Dyer James, the county secretary of the Farmers Union of Wales, the director of highways wrote: The design work highlighted problems and an assessment of alternative routes has been carried out. The results of that exercise are being studied and we would hope to undertake some improvement as soon as we can, although it would be unwise to anticipate that work could commence before the early 1990s. That is the line that was adopted. Correspondence continued with individuals, councillors, my predecessor and many other people.

In January 1990, the director of highways at the Welsh Office responded to a letter from a local county councillor, Miss Gwenfon Hughes, who has assiduously pursued the matter. The reply to her letter took from 12 October to 30 January, which, one might think, was not a very good start. The letter stated: We are, however, hoping to complete our evaluation of the option at Drws-y-Nant, for example whether there should be on-line improvement or a new alignment in the near future, and then to get on with the detailed design work. The letter goes on to state that the officer concerned is afraid the scheme is unlikely to start before the early 1990s and even if the statutory procedures can be satisfactorily completed and funds are available work could not start before late 1992 at the earliest. On 7 February that year, another Welsh Office employee wrote, in response to the very same letter from the very same county councillor, that it would not be sooner than the mid-1990s before the work could commence. In the space of seven days, from 30 January to 7 February 1990, the commencement time slipped three years. People think that "Yes Minister" was far-fetched. Was that response reasonable? It was not, in my view, a reasonable way in which to deal with an inquiry.

In March 1990, interim measures to improve the situation were ruled out on the ground of cost. In the meantime, the Welsh Office attempted to justify its non-activity by saying that traffic numbers were low. Nothing could be further from the truth. The A494 is one of the arterial roads carrying holidaymakers from Manchester, Liverpool and the midlands to various seaside resorts in the constituency, such as Barmouth and Tywyn. It is a very busy road all year round. It serves two cattle marts, one each end of the route, and those cattle marts are convened at least once a week and sometimes twice.

In 1991, the line adopted by the Welsh Office was that allowing for the completion of statutory procedures, the possibility of a public inquiry and the time that will be required to complete the detailed design of the scheme, a start of works is unlikely for several years. It was implied that the statutory procedures and the detailed design would take some time. The Welsh Office had already had 16 years to carry that work out and one wonders how much longer it really required.

In May 1991, the then Secretary of State for Wales, David Hunt, in a markedly helpful response to a Conservative opponent of mine said: On present estimates the work will cost some £1.6 million". I wonder how much the work would have cost 17 years ago. The letter continued: and statutory procedures will be started in 1993 to enable the work itself to begin in March 1994. The letter was heralded by my Conservative opponent as a real breakthrough, although he did not make a breakthrough at the election.

Regular correspondence continued and the start date slipped again from 1994 to the mid-1990s. According to parliamentary answers, work would commence in 1994, subject to the satisfactory completion of our old friend the statutory procedures. As a lawyer, I can tell the House that those procedures take very little time if one applies a little common sense and gets on with the job in hand. I have been able to do the job in a matter of months or weeks, so I cannot see why the Welsh Office could not do it.

Another excuse was introduced, this time the availability of finance. A parliamentary answer was given on 1 February 1993 bringing in the new excuse. In an answer in January 1994, it was said that draft orders for the scheme were due to be published in the spring and that commencement of the work was dependent on satisfactory completion of the statutory procedures. Again, the answer referred to finance. That was cold comfort for those having to use this dangerous route every day.

In March 1994, for example, a lorry driver was badly injured. His legs were trapped and he was stuck in his cab for many hours. That was one of several serious accidents over the years. The man was a local lorry driver and he knew the risks, but the on-coming lorry driver did not, hence the collision. I sent details to the Welsh Office and received, in April 1994, a response from the then Minister of State, who said: Subject to statutory procedures and draft orders, we hope to start the works in 1995–6. That was a further two years' slippage.

In January 1996, the new Minister of State said that the work was programmed to start in 1997, subject to our old friend the statutory procedures and, again, the availability of finance. Since then, the Drws y Nant pressure group has been set up. It has been most effective due to the good offices of Mr. Trebor Roberts JP, the chair, and Mrs. Bailey, the honorary secretary.

I understand that the scheme is now in the reserve programme for the financial year 1997–98. Therefore, it will not be started until 1998 at the earliest. The temporary traffic lights are already in the "The Guinness Book of Records". I am always pleased when my constituency is mentioned, but I am not so happy about that reference.

The last letter that I received from the former Minister of State at the Welsh Office, Mr. Gwilym Jones, stated: The improvement is included in the medium schemes programme and albeit it awaits the availability of funds it continues to remain a high priority. Statutory procedures are complete, orders have been made and tender documents have been prepared and are ready for issue. In the house on 12 December 1996, the Secretary of State announced the Welsh Office budget of £6.9 billion and explained his spending plans". I suppose there is some hope, but I found that letter quite ominous and I wonder whether I read it correctly. If so, after all the years of patience and dozens of serious accidents, is the Welsh Office seriously suggesting in the second paragraph of that letter that maintenance of the existing network will preclude the commencement of work on the scheme? That is absolutely unacceptable after such a long delay.

Not to put too fine a point on it, the whole story is a farce from beginning to end. It is appalling, not least because of the facts that I have set out. Incidentally, the annual cost of hiring the lights is more than £1,800.

The danger is increasing due to heavier traffic and the deterioration of the road. This summer, Bala—which is my home area and the cradle of Welsh culture—will host the national eisteddfod, which I am sure the Minister will attend. Between 120,000 and 150,000 people visit that festival, and no doubt a number of them will have to tackle this obstacle.

The eisteddfod is held in August, when holiday traffic is at its heaviest. In the name of reason I call on the Minister to give me an unqualified assurance that the work will be carried out because it is simply a matter of time before there is a fatal accident. There have already been many serious accidents in which people have been maimed for life. It will be no comfort to me to say, "I told you so" if and when someone is killed.

Furthermore, the obstacle is undoubtedly hampering the area in terms of inward investment and must surely be offputting to tourists. Wholesalers to retail premises in Dolgellau and the south of the constituency are generally not prepared to send large lorries to Dolgellau and Bala and frequently opt for two smaller ones, thereby increasing the cost of delivery. The knock-on effect is clear: retailers have to pay more for the goods with obvious results.

It is high time that real action is taken. Although the present Government have been in office for only a few weeks, they tell us that it is now time to act. Let us have action without any further prevarication or delay. I know the Minister to be an honourable man, so I trust that he will respond accordingly, because fairness and common sense demand it.

I realise that, for most of the time the lights have been in place, we have had a Conservative Administration. I now invite the Minister to bring this iniquitous and dangerous folly to an end and show that the Labour Government are prepared to take action where it is necessary and are not simply paying lip service to slogans such as "action, not words."

I shall listen carefully to the Minister's reply. I hope that he will be able to give me some assurances which, after some 18 years, are not being hurried out of him. I am sure that he has considered his response and will realise that the problem is a danger to the public. I ask him to give it due priority.

10.34 pm
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Wales (Mr. Peter Hain)

I should like to express my gratitude for the congratulations of the hon. Member for Meirionnydd Nant Conwy (Mr. Llwyd) on my appointment. I congratulate him on securing this debate. He is a widely respected hon. Member, especially for the diligent way in which he represents his constituency. I am aware that he has shown a keen interest in the improvement of the A494 trunk road, particularly the part in his beautiful constituency.

At the outset, I should say that the new Government propose a radically different transport policy in Wales—not that that will be difficult. The Tory Government had no coherent transport policy at all. Thatcherism just left it all to market forces and the result has been shambolic. Our roads are becoming mobile car parks, our railways have been chopped and privatised, and deregulation has brought savage cuts in bus services, resulting in many outlying areas being virtually cut off. Those on low incomes or pensions are consequently trapped and forced to buy from expensive local shops as the age of car driver shopping overshadows us all.

All that is undermining the quality of life and the environment. We will ensure that a new transport policy has a strong green dimension.

As part of our strategic review of roads in Wales, I have made it clear that the completion of two east-west super-highways will be priorities. The completion of the dualling of the A55 across Angelsey will provide a rapid road link from Chester to Holyhead, and the upgrading of the A40 in Pembrokeshire will link the Severn crossings to Fishguard. Both will be major arterial routes for inward investment and increased trade.

The A494, which is known as the Dolgellau-to-south-of-Birkenhead trunk road, carries traffic between mid-Wales and the north-west of England, and to the motorway network beyond. I agree with the hon. Member for Meirionnydd Nant Conwy that it is an arterial road and should be given significance, as he has argued.

In the 1994 review of roads in Wales, the section of the A494 between the Wales and England boundary and its junction with the A55 at Ewloe was designated as a major strategic route, with average daily traffic flows in excess of 54,000 vehicles. In the same document, the section between Ewloe and Dolgellau, with much reduced traffic flows of 16,000—to fewer than 2,000 vehicles a day in some places—was designated as a route where no major strategic improvements to increase overall route capacity for long-distance traffic were considered necessary. That designation recognised its environmental setting. Any improvements on the section that were to be taken forward would be selected and targeted at specific problems such as the one described by the hon. Member.

A number of improvements have been carried out on the A494 over the last 10 years or so. In the constituency of the hon. Member for Meirionnydd Nant Conwy, the Pont Rhyd Sarn scheme, which is located between Dolgellau and Llanuwchlyn, involved the construction of a new bridge to replace a substandard one—which had been the site of a number of accidents—and was opened to traffic in the early 1990s.

The schemes already undertaken have been part of the Welsh Office's major and medium scheme programmes. In addition, many minor improvements have been undertaken over the years. There are several proposed improvement schemes in the Department's programme, which is split into major schemes, medium schemes and minor improvements. In the major scheme programme, which includes all schemes costing more than £3 million, two categories apply to the A494 trunk road. The following two schemes are in preparation: the A494 Deeside park to Ewloe improvement and the proposed Ewloe interchange improvement.

In the longer term, there are two further A494 schemes: first, the Mold to Ewloe improvement, which will involve the construction of a dual carriageway between the northern end of the Mold bypass and the proposed Ewloe interchange improvement; and, secondly, the proposed Llanbedr bypass improvement scheme, which is the final major scheme for the A494 currently in the Department's programme.

The Department's current medium scheme programme includes two A494 schemes in the hon. Gentleman's constituency. The first is the proposed Merllwyn Gwyn to Glan yr Afon scheme, which involves the on-line improvement of the existing substandard trunk road. The area is particularly sensitive and my Department is carrying out an extensive environmental assessment.

The second is the Drws y Nant scheme, which is the hon. Gentleman's main concern this evening. I pay tribute to him for the way in which he has pressed for the scheme to go ahead since he came to the House.

The need for the scheme arose when part of the wall and rock support retaining the road became unstable. Traffic had to be kept away from the wall and the river, and one-way working was put in place while consideration was given to alternative remedial measures. After a review of the options available, it was concluded that the best long-term solution would be to construct a new section of road away from the line of the existing route. The necessary planning and investigation were carried out.

A shorter improvement scheme was considered, but discarded because, with the significant cost of around £1 million, it would still leave substandard approaches with poor visibility at Drws y Nant station and would be visually intrusive because of the extensive rock cuttings and long retaining walls needed.

It was therefore concluded that, in view of the low traffic levels on that part of the A494–3,000 to 3,500 vehicles per day, although the volume is much greater during the holiday months—it would be appropriate to retain the one-way working until the replacement scheme was developed.

I readily concede that the problem has lasted for an intolerably long time. After 17 years, it must rank as the longest lasting set of temporary traffic light in the world. I have not been able to find it in "The Guinness Book of Records", but there was a debate in the pages of the "Reader's Digest" on whether it was the longest. We agree about the need to tackle the problem. As the hon. Gentleman said, the scheme has reached an advanced stage of preparation, with the draft orders having been first published in May 1994.

The proposed Drws y Nant scheme involves the construction of a new 1.3 km length of single carriageway road, with a 7.3m wide carriageway and verges of variable widths. Construction would not have a major effect on the surrounding landscape, as most of the land required is part of the existing road or the dismantled railway. Most of the scheme will be screened from view by the local landform and surrounding woodlands and by the proposed screen planting. There is no objection to the scheme on environmental grounds, and there is strong local support for the improvement, which would take about 18 months to construct.

The design and contract documents for the scheme have been completed on behalf of the Department by Gwynedd council, acting as our agents. This scheme start is dependent on the availability of the necessary finance. Had the finance been available, tenders could have already been invited, but the reduction in central Government funding by the previous Tory Administration prevented such action.

Our review will assess whether schemes such as Drws y Nant can be supported. We will build it if we can. It has the highest priority in the medium schemes road programme. I assure the hon. Gentleman that, as a result of this debate, I shall give even more serious consideration to that priority. Work would have started on it this year had it not been for the massive cut in the roads budget, which was nearly halved from £187 million to £115 million over the past two years. The Conservative Government failed the hon. Gentleman's constituency, just as it failed the rest of Wales.

I promise to do my best to get the scheme in the roads programme as soon as possible. It is ready and waiting to go. However, we have been left a dreadful legacy of budget cuts by the Conservatives, and it will be difficult.

I hope that the hon. Gentleman takes some encouragement from my commitments this evening. The future is much brighter, not just for this problem, but for the many other problems involving roads and public transport in Wales. The new Welsh Assembly will help us to implement a coherent transport policy for Wales because it will reflect all parts of the country and ensure that the interests of rural areas—especially those such as the hon. Gentleman's constituency—in mid and north Wales, are protected.

We are aware of the priority that is attached by the hon. Gentleman and local people to the scheme. By all objective criteria, it should be given the go-ahead as soon as we can find the necessary finance. We need to have a general review of transport policy and I hope that the hon. Gentleman, his colleagues, his constituents and other Welsh Members will participate. Transport in Wales needs serious attention. We need to strengthen public transport, develop the strategic routes that I mentioned, and deal with the major routes that pass through the hon. Gentleman's constituency.

Part of the answer to the problems will be securing a yes vote in the referendum for a Welsh Assembly, so that we can have policies that are designed for the needs of Wales instead of policies from a distance by the previous Administration who did not understand Wales and, in 18 years, did not deal with its problems.

I hope that the hon. Gentleman and his colleagues will participate in the debate on transport policy and I hope that we will be able to resolve the long-standing problem that is so frustrating to his constituents and which he so eloquently described this evening.

Question put and agreed to.

Adjourned accordingly at fifteen minutes to Eleven o'clock.