HL Deb 02 July 1969 vol 303 cc556-8

2.43 p.m.

LORD INGLEWOOD

My Lords, I beg leave to ask the Question which stands in my name on the Order Paper.

[The Question was as follows:

To ask Her Majesty's Government what advice has been given to their agents or consulting engineers, when planning the line of new motorways, either to follow alongside the line of existing railways, where feasible, so avoiding the severance of farm land, or to prefer a line at some distance from an existing railway line.]

THE JOINT PARLIAMENTARY UNDER-SECRETARY OF STATE FOR SCOTLAND (LORD HUGHES)

My Lords, no specific advice is given regarding the selection of the line of new motorways in relation to that of railways, but general advice is given that severance of agricultural land shall be minimised. Liaison procedures have also been established with the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food to ensure that at an early stage of route planning the agricultural implications are fully taken into account. In Scotland there is similar cooperation between the Development and Agricultural Departments.

LORD INGLEWOOD

My Lords, in thanking the noble Lord for that reply, may I ask whether he would agree that in many cases it would be a great saving in agricultural land if the line of the new road or motorway followed close to an existing railway line, instead of just a short distance away, so severing a very large number of fields, and causing great damage to a large number of farms? We do see examples of that.

LORD HUGHES

Yes, my Lords; but we have to take into account what is the purpose of having a motorway. In planning motorways it is essential to provide an alignment which will reduce driving monotony to a minimum. This is best achieved by avoiding long straights, and by fitting the road to the landscape, which factors are only exceptionally compatible with existing railway routing. Having regard to the fact that fatigue can be a very great factor in road accidents, it would be a mistake in the creation of these new motorways to plan them in such a way that we intensify the risk of accidents rather than minimise them.

LORD LINDGREN

My Lords, while congratulating my noble friend on his last answer, may I ask whether he would not agree that the civil engineering problems of road construction are totally different from those of railway construction? Rail construction took place in the 1840s and 1850s, and we are now dealing with roads in the 1960s.

LORD HUGHES

My Lords, I find it difficult to disagree with any of those remarks.

LORD INGLEWOOD

My Lords, while I find it difficult to disagree with what the noble Lord has said in reply to my last question, would he not find it difficult to disagree with me that while it is a great advantage to be able to move about, and have better communications, it is even more vital for this country to have enough to eat?

LORD HUGHES

Yes, my Lords, but we have to remember that we must take all of these things into account. As my noble friend has said, a line chosen for a railway may in many cases be totally unsuitable for a motorway.

LORD GISBOROUGH

My Lords, is the noble Lord aware that certain planning committees are allowing individual houses to be built on old railway lines, and that one house completely wrecks the whole line for future use as a road? Is the noble Lord satisfied with this procedure?

LORD HUGHES

My Lords, I am not so aware; I doubt whether this is the case in Scotland, but it could be.