HL Deb 09 December 1970 vol 313 cc938-40
LORD MONTAGU OF BEAULIEU

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 the anticipated completion date of the M.3 Motorway on the

  1. (a) Popham to Bagshot Section;
  2. (b) Bagshot to London Section;
  3. (c) Popham to Winchester Section.]

LORD MOWBRAY AND STOURTON

My Lords, the section between Popham and Lightwater, near Bagshot, is expected to be completed next summer, and the Lightwater to Sunbury section late in 1973. The Popham to Winchester section is at a very early stage of preparation and it is too early to set a date for its completion.

LORD MONTAGU OF BEAULIEU

My Lords, while thanking my noble friend for that Answer, may I ask a supplementary question? First of all, in view of the fact that the Highways Bill had its Second Reading yesterday in another place, and having regard to the creation of a container port at Southampton, does the noble Lord not think that he can ask his right honourable friend to look again at the possibility of speeding up the last section, so as to complete this vital motorway to Southampton?

LORD MOWBRAY AND STOURTON

My Lords, in answer to my noble friend I would point out that the extension from Popham to Winchester was included in the preparation pool only in July of this year. A draft scheme to fix the route has been published and it is open to objection for another four weeks, until January 4. Therefore it is too early for my right honourable friend to make any firm decision yet.

LORD SHACKLETON

My Lords, may I ask the noble Lord whether he will ask his right honourable friend to consider the amount of disruption there is at present South of Basingstoke, because of the work on these roads? Whereas no doubt the future will be a bright one, it is pretty gloomy at the moment when there is so much single-line traffic.

LORD MOWBRAY AND STOURTON

Yes, my Lords. My right honourable friend and his advisers have this very much in mind, and on the Winchester section, in particular, they are going to take great trouble. The bits further North will be finished fairly soon, we hope.

LORD BROUGHAM AND VAUX

My Lords, can the noble Lord say whether the whole of this motorway is going to be three-lane, with crash barriers down the middle?

LORD MOWBRAY AND STOURTON

My Lords, the whole of the motorway will be three-lane.

LORD BROUGHAM AND VAUX

With crash barriers down the middle?

LORD MOWBRAY AND STOURTON

My Lords, that will not be so at the moment, but Her Majesty's Government have a policy under which 1,000 miles of motorway will have crash barriers by 1975. All new contracts for motorways now incoporate crash barriers automatically, but when the M.3 contract went out that was not the case.

LORD INGLEWOOD

My Lords, may I ask the noble Lord to look again and see that, while verges are of adequate size, the Department does not take an unnecessary area of agricultural land, with great slopes which have to be mown by Allen scythe very expensively all through the summer, at a time when we should be looking after our agricultural land? The scale on which these roads are planned seems to be extravagant.

LORD MOWBRAY AND STOURTON

My Lords, I am sure that the noble Lord's words will be taken into account by my right honourable friend.

LORD BROUGHAM AND VAUX

My Lords, would it not be a lot cheaper to the taxpayer, and create less hazard for the motorist, if crash barriers were put down the middle of the road while it was being built, instead of five years afterwards?

LORD MOWBRAY AND STOURTON

My Lords, it is not always easy to alter contracts which have been made.