HC Deb 21 April 1998 vol 310 cc723-30

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

12.1 am

Mr. Anthony D. Wright (Great Yarmouth)

Way back in 1971, the Government of the day first published plans for a high-capacity road network, which included the dualling of the A47 from King's Lynn to Great Yarmouth. In 1978, the strategic route approach was watered down, and, to all intents and purposes, replaced by proposals to build bypasses on key stretches of the road.

In 1980, the European dimension was introduced—the then Government submitted the A47 as a route of European significance to the EC. Eight years on, with not a contractor's vehicle in sight, Great Yarmouth produced a document called "Acle New Road: the Case for Dualling". The document was accompanied by a supporting petition signed by 20,000 people. A year on, in 1989, another small section of the rain forest died in vain, when the Thatcher Government produced the White Paper "Roads to Prosperity", which included a commitment to dual the A47 for its entire length between Peterborough and Great Yarmouth.

Five more years rolled by, until the next review, "Trunk Roads in England", was produced. That work of art returned the prospects for the A47 to the 1978 position. The all-too-familiar story of limited resources was cited as the reason for that backward step, although the Norwich southern bypass was built at a cost of about £86 million.

The story of dualling the Acle straight is rather like a game of snakes and ladders, except that there are no ladders, and, even after 27 years, the game has not left the first square. Predictably, the next roll of the dice produced another snake—the "Managing the Trunk Programme" document further restricted plans to improve the A47.

That left only two schemes, Thorney and Hardwick, in the programme. Seven schemes, including Acle and Blofield, were relegated to the longer-term programme, and the disastrous news that they were to be scrapped altogether came in 1996. Ironically, the A47 was accepted as a trans-European route in that year.

That was all against a background of rapid growth in the eastern region, which is growing faster than any other region in the country. Traffic growth between 1983 and 1989, the years before the big recession, was 50 per cent. in East Anglia, compared with an average of 32 per cent. in the country as a whole. Unfortunately, Great Yarmouth has not benefited from the success of the rest of the region. Along with Wisbech, it was designated an assisted area.

The A47 is recognised as a key strategic route for the regeneration of the area in both regional strategies and county structure plans. Despite the relative poverty and poor trading position of Great Yarmouth, the Acle straight exceeded the Department of Transport's minimum level of traffic required for dualling of 11,000 vehicles a day and the so-called acceptable upper limit for single carriageway, at 13,000 vehicles a day, way back in 1993.

The latest available figures, for 1996, show that 15,997 vehicles a day used the Acle straight—a rise of about 3,000 on the 1993 figure. Unfortunately, the increase in traffic flow does not indicate an increase in commercial activity. More slow-moving traffic has simply increased journey times, and led to the haemorrhage of business from Great Yarmouth to competitor ports.

Given the lethal combination of large numbers of slow-moving cars and lorries and a long, straight stretch of road on which the judgment of distance is difficult, it is hardly surprising that the accident rate is much higher than the national average. Even back in the early 1990s, the figures were appalling. There were 31 fatalities on all the undualled sections of the A47 between 1991 and 1994. The Acle straight has been the scene of four fatal accidents, eight serious accidents and 32 slight accidents, resulting in 88 casualties, in the past three years.

Mr. Keith Simpson (Mid-Norfolk)

I offer my support to the hon. Gentleman, as my constituents are deeply concerned about the lack of dualling on the area of the A47 between Blofield and Lingwood, and the effect that it is having on road casualties. I want to reinforce his point about the economic impact, which affects both Great Yarmouth and Norfolk more widely. It is very important that the whole of the A47 is dualled.

Mr. Wright

I welcome the hon. Gentleman's comments. It is only a pity that many of his colleagues in the previous Government did not take the same attitude. In 18 years of Tory government, no fewer than 23 Ministers with the roads portfolio said that there was a definite need for dualling, but the Acle straight was withdrawn from the scheme in 1996.

Dr. Ian Gibson (Norwich, North)

Does my hon. Friend agree that there are also environmental problems around the site? I know the area well from travelling to the James Pagett hospital for breast cancer research. There are special environmental problems with animals and plants. Does my hon. Friend concede that those problems must be considered before the road is dualled?

Mr. Wright

That is indeed the case. All the councils, and certainly the Members of Parliament, recognise the need for environmental protection. I will touch on that a little later.

The cost of accidents on the two stretches alone amounted to more than £8 million between 1991 and 1994. It has been estimated that the overall saving per annum of dualling all the remaining single carriageway on the A47 to the AI could be as much as £5.9 million through the reduction in accidents alone.

The cost in human lives lost could be dramatically reduced by dualling, as statistics show that rural roads—single carriageways—produce 50 deaths per 100 million vehicle kilometres, compared with 17 for motorway or dualled carriageway. Dualling should cut the death rate to one third of the present total, which is the strongest reason for taking action as soon as possible.

Various studies of the local economy have shown that the poor standard of roads can be a significant disincentive to investment. Major job losses in Great Yarmouth in the 1980s and early 1990s have illustrated that point. It is one of the few major ports, offshore and tourism centres that is not linked to the national dual carriageway network, despite its proximity to Europe.

There is no doubt that the prospects and competitiveness of the port are being adversely affected by the inadequacies of the existing road network. Evidence of that fact is the departure of the haulage company Norfolk Line, which ceased its Great Yarmouth operation in the early 1990s and now operates out of the rival port of Felixstowe. Once again, valuable jobs were lost, and Great Yarmouth's case for the construction of an outer harbour to accommodate larger vessels was further damaged. Great Yarmouth needs to be linked to the main strategic highway arteries if it is to overcome severe problems of deprivation, high unemployment and peripherality.

Of course I recognise the need for an improvement in the rail rink; indeed, I support the case made by Great Yarmouth borough council and the local business community for improved strategic rail links, including the encouragement and promotion of an east-west rail link between East Anglia and Oxford or Swindon. That measure, together with the radical improvements in through ticketing arrangements, is keenly sought by the people of Great Yarmouth. However, such measures should be introduced in parallel with road improvements, not as a substitute.

The campaign for the dualling of the A47 Acle straight has been supported by Norfolk county council, the relevant district councils, the port authority and local companies throughout the Great Yarmouth and Lowestoft region. The A47 Alliance, campaigning for the improvement of the A47 as a whole, received support from more than 500 companies, with the most vocal supporters coming from Great Yarmouth.

Dr. George Turner (North-West Norfolk)

The most vocal support that my hon. Friend hears might be from Yarmouth, but I can assure him that, 70 or 80 miles away in King's Lynn at the other end of Norfolk, industrialists on the estates, who were promised 18 and 20 years ago that they would have a good road network, with connections to the national network, are very loud in the ears of their local Member. One of the features of our part of East Anglia is that we need the whole of the A47 dualled.

Mr. Deputy Speaker (Sir Alan Haselhurst)

Order. The debate is moving a little further than it should, out of the territory of concern to the hon. Member for Great Yarmouth (Mr. Wright).

Mr. Wright

I thank my hon. Friend the Member for North-West Norfolk (Dr. Turner) for his comments. The A47 starts at Yarmouth, and our one strength is the support that we have received not only from the Great Yarmouth area, but from all the district councils within Norfolk and from down the coast at Lowestoft. The A47 Acle straight is a vital part of the infrastructure needs, not only of Great Yarmouth but of north-west Norfolk. One of the strengths of our campaign was the support across the political spectrum, the business community throughout the whole of Norfolk, the local councils, and authorities throughout the eastern region as well as Norfolk.

To return to the concerns of my hon. Friend the Member for Norwich, North (Dr. Gibson) about the environmental implications of dualling the Acle straight, the Broads authority is the body with primary responsibility for the well-being of the area affected by the straight. After discussion in Great Yarmouth, the authority resolved to seek an agreed position with Great Yarmouth council as follows: Norfolk County Council, Great Yarmouth Borough Council and the Broads Authority agree to the principle of dualling the A47 Acle Straight and the rail electrification, to be implemented at the earliest opportunity, subject to the following: a) that these schemes should be designated, evaluated and implemented fully in compliance with the advice of PPG13 Transport; b) that these schemes be designed and implemented in a manner which complies with the advice in PPG9 'Nature Conservation' and avoids a significant adverse effect on the ecological value of Damgate Marshes SSSI, taking into account any appropriate mitigating measures to be implemented with the schemes; c) that these schemes should be designed and implemented in a manner which minimises any adverse effects on the Broads environment, including the nature conservation interest, the landscape and important buildings and also taking full account of the agricultural interests of the area. The scheme's environmental impact has been examined.

It is important to realise that the people of Great Yarmouth are asking not for a totally new road but for the dualling of an existing highway. If it had involved a new road, I would have opposed the scheme, but dualling would affect only some 30 yd alongside existing highways. I hope that the recent visit of the Minister of Transport will provide a much-needed ladder in this game of snakes and ladders. I sincerely hope that the mission statement on the future of Yarmouth will give the Acle straight dualling scheme the boost that it badly needs.

People say that Great Yarmouth is out on a limb, and perhaps it is, but limbs need clear, efficient arteries to keep them in good health. Great Yarmouth's artery is the A47, and it needs surgery desperately.

12.15 am
Mr. Bob Blizzard (Waveney)

rose

Mr. Deputy Speaker

Order. Can the hon. Gentleman assure me that he has the permission of the hon. Member for Great Yarmouth (Mr. Wright) and the Minister to make this speech?

Mr. Blizzard

I can.

I thank my hon. Friend the Member for Great Yarmouth (Mr. Wright) for giving me a few minutes. Less than nine miles to the south of Great Yarmouth lies the port of Lowestoft. The A47 is the main east-west link between Lowestoft and the midlands and the north. Lowestoft's arguments for improvements to the A47 are identical to those of Great Yarmouth.

Like Great Yarmouth, Lowestoft exists because it is a port. That is why it was founded, and why the town has grown up. Now it is a port where life is hard. It should not be that way, because the port points straight at Europe. It is Britain's most easterly port. The job of a port is to integrate sea and land transport. Ports are essential elements of an integrated transport policy, and essential to Britain successfully competing in Europe, but they cannot perform their function unless there are modern land routes to and from them. The roads to Lowestoft, such as the A47, are unmodernised. The railways are worse.

Only yesterday, a European visitor told me about a trip from Leeds to Lowestoft along the A47, and described the road as being of third-world standard. The economic consequences for Lowestoft are the same as those for Yarmouth. Unemployment is still more than 9 per cent. We have lost firms, with few replacements. We do not even have assisted area status. Our main port user is moving operations to Hull—the constituency of the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions. The reason given is Hull's good dualled road links.

There was a time when road links to Lowestoft and Yarmouth were as good as those of the rest of the country, but most of the rest of the country has been modernised; we have been left behind. I do not believe that we should carry on widening motorways, but we should modernise roads such as the Acle straight, which would breathe new life into my town and into that of my hon. Friend the Member for Great Yarmouth. Together, the population of our constituencies is about 200,000. Those people need a future. We must not continue to be abandoned, as we were by the previous Government. Lowestoft and Great Yarmouth deserve better.

12.17 am
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions (Ms Glenda Jackson)

I congratulate my hon. Friend the Member for Great Yarmouth (Mr. Wright) on securing this debate. Clearly, the dualling of the A47 Acle straight is a matter of importance not only in his constituency but over a much wider area. That was demonstrated by the contributions that my hon. Friend so generously allowed not only from my hon. Friends the Members for Waveney (Mr. Blizzard), for Norwich, North (Dr. Gibson) and for North-West Norfolk (Dr. Turner) but from the hon. Member for Mid-Norfolk (Mr. Simpson).

I know of the concerns, which were expressed most cogently, that Great Yarmouth's relatively remote location and lack of high-quality links adversely affect its economy and development prospects.

Before I deal with the A47, it may be helpful to the House if I say something about how the roads review fits into the overall thrust of our integrated transport policies, and the stage that we have reached in the consultation process. The Government are committed to developing a sustainable and integrated transport policy that will tackle the serious problems of congestion and pollution that we face.

We are aiming at a shift away from fragmented provision of infrastructure and services to an integrated approach that will serve the country's needs for a strong economy, a sustainable environment and an inclusive society. Good communications are essential to delivering those aims, but we must reduce our dependence on the car and lorry if we are not to be choked by increasing pollution and gridlocked by increasing congestion.

I am pleased to say that there has been a great deal of interest in the major consultation exercise that we conducted last year. Some 6,700 replies were received in England alone. We are currently engaged in the development of an integrated approach to transport, and will publish our conclusions and policies in our transport White Paper later in the year.

In addition to our consultation paper, and in order to encourage debate about the needs and priorities in each area, we organise seminars on a regional basis. This approach is very much in line with our intention to strengthen the English regions and encourage partnerships, co-ordination of programmes and local decision making.

As part of the roads review consultation exercise for the eastern region, which includes my hon. Friend's constituency, the Government office conducted two seminars for local transport authorities, business and environmental interests, at which every trunk road in the region was examined in detail. The results of that exercise were fed into a regional conference on integrated transport on 23 October, attended by well over 200 delegates. This process allowed time for delegates to contribute to the consultation following these events.

On 3 December, my noble Friend the Minister for Roads invited all hon. Members from constituencies in the eastern region to hear a summary of the consultation results and to put their points directly to her. I know that my noble Friend found the meeting very useful in helping her to understand the particular problems of the region.

I am aware that my hon. Friend the Member for Great Yarmouth attended the meeting, and I hope that he also found it useful. He made the point there that the lack of good dual-carriageway access to Great Yarmouth and Lowestoft was making it especially difficult to attract and retain investment—Point that he made most cogently again tonight, as did my hon. Friend the Member for Waveney. The Government office for the eastern region has received more than 400 letters about the trunk road schemes in the region.

The A47 is a significant inter-regional route between the midlands and East Anglia. The section between the Al at Peterborough and Great Yarmouth, through Cambridgeshire and Norfolk, is of particular significance to East Anglia. Great Yarmouth on the east coast is the major town in my hon. Friend's constituency. The importance, although he found it somewhat ironic, of the A47 is recognised by its classification as part of the trans-European road network connecting the heart of England to the east coast ports.

The A11 to Norwich and the A47 east of Norwich also form a key route, providing access to Great Yarmouth and Lowestoft from the south and west. The regional consultation on the roads review identified the highest priority for the region as completion of dualling of that route, to open up the north and east of the region and contribute to regeneration and economic development there.

Considerable progress has been made in solving some of the problems on the A47. Over £150 million has been invested in A47 improvements in Cambridgeshire and Norfolk in the past 10 years. That is a considerable amount, indicating the importance attached to the route. A number of bypasses and other improvements have been opened to traffic west of Norwich. Norwich southern bypass, the Postwick-Blofield improvement and Acle bypass have continued the improvements made to the A 11-A47 route.

Those, like my hon. Friend, who seek major improvements to the A47 have had their hopes built up only to be dashed as the roads programme was expanded and then contracted by the previous Administration. It has been a somewhat frustrating game of snakes and ladders, as my hon. Friend said, and I can well understand the frustration of the local communities that he so cogently expressed. We decided that, unlike previous road programme reviews, our review should be conducted as openly as possible. Our objective is to produce from the roads review an investment programme which supports our integrated transport strategy and delivers clear benefits against each of our five criteria of safety, accessibility, the environment, integration and the economy. We therefore intend that the output of the roads review should include, first, a short-term investment programme, and, secondly, a programme of studies to look at the remaining problems, from which we will develop the medium and longer-term investment programme.

To help us decide what should go into the short-term investment programme, we have developed a new appraisal framework that will enable us to see how far each proposal will tackle the problem in question, and how it will measure up against the five review criteria. We are not anti-car; we recognise that there are some problems to which road construction is the only answer. However, before we sign up to a new road building programme, we want to be clear that all other options have been considered, including public transport improvements, demand management, traffic management and better driver information.

Only a limited number of projects across the country are sufficiently advanced to allow them to be considered as candidates for the short-term programme. Elsewhere, we shall seek to put a programme of studies into place, some to look at specific problem areas and others to look at wider transport corridors. The emphasis will be on involving a range of local interests in identifying problems and finding solutions.

We are very much aware of the pressure for improvements to be made to the section of the A47, the Acle straight. To the south of the A47 between Acle and Great Yarmouth lies the Damgate marshes site of special scientific interest, which was mentioned by my hon. Friend. The bulk of the Norfolk broads has been put forward as a candidate for designation as a special area of conservation, and that might be extended to include the Damgate marshes SSSI, in view of the existence of rare communities of freshwater plants. Should the site receive such status under the European Community habitats directive, it would obviously have a bearing on the promotion of any scheme to improve that section of A47.

The Government and the Highways Agency regard the safety of all road users as one of their highest priorities, and the agency monitors all accidents on the network to determine whether there are clusters where changes to signing or the road layout or other safety measures could make the road safer.

Two local schemes are proposed on the section of A47 in 1998-99. In September, the agency will be carrying out a highway maintenance scheme to resurface a section of the carriageway, improve drainage and introduce new kerbing. There are also proposals to erect a speed camera to help to enforce the speed limit and reduce speed-related accidents. Although there are no other proposals for network enhancement or local safety schemes on this section of the A47 in the current financial year, the agency will continue to monitor the operation of the A47 very closely to determine whether any other improvements can be identified and brought forward in the future.

My hon. Friend the Member for Great Yarmouth mentioned the accident record of the section of A47 between Blofield and Acle. The Highways Agency is fully aware of the accident history, and has commissioned a study to look into the causes of accidents on that section of the A47, as well as that at the Beighton White House junction. The purpose of the study is to identify low-cost remedial measures to solve the accident problems. The study work is currently being completed, and the agency hopes to receive the final study report shortly. The nature of any future network enhancement or local safety schemes will depend upon the recommendations made in the study. The agency will keep my hon. Friend informed of progress.

Turning to local transport within east Norfolk, we are expecting a new package bid from Norfolk county council for Great Yarmouth. That will be a development from last year's bid, which we were not able to accept; it will concentrate on sustainable transport measures to aid regeneration and the management of tourist traffic.

Norfolk county council is also developing a transport strategy for the Norfolk coast, which could lead to a further bid for package funding. Norfolk already has a successful package under way in Norwich, with another major park-and-ride site at Postwick due to open in May. In February of this year, the county council's joint conference with the Countryside Commission addressed the problems of rural traffic, and balancing transport needs with the need to maintain the environmental quality of the area. Those are issues relevant to the forthcoming transport White Paper.

On the question of regeneration, Great Yarmouth borough council, working with English Partnerships and others, has proposals for industrial development in the South Gorleston area. We are at present considering an application for grant under section 13 of the Industrial Development Act 1985 to aid the development of the site. Resource limitations may restrict our ability to accept new package bids, but the work being done in Great Yarmouth and in north Norfolk is developing a practical, integrated strategy emphasising the role of environmentally friendly modes.

I am grateful to my hon. Friend for bringing these matters to the attention of the House. I very much welcome the debate and the points made by all hon. Members about the environmental, safety and economic problems caused by the lack of high-quality routes to north-east Norfolk. We shall take those points into account as we complete the roads review, and I assure all hon. Members that we shall give them due consideration and weight.

Question put and agreed to.

Adjourned accordingly at half-past Twelve midnight.