§ LORD KILMANYMy 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 whether they are aware that the proposed exclusion of Berwick-on-Tweed from the 84 historic towns scheduled to have bypass roads before the 1980s threatens maintenance of the A.1 road between Edinburgh and London as the main route between England and Scotland.]
§ LORD SANDFORDMy Lords, the M.6, now complete to Carlisle, provides the main trunk route between England and Scotland, but the A.1 remains the only all-weather trunk route on the East Coast linking Edinburgh with Newcastle. My right honourable friend the Secretary of State has every intention of maintaining it at an appropriate standard for this purpose. A by-pass is not the solution to Berwick's traffic problems since 75 per cent. of traffic using the A.1 there has business in the town. Furthermore, much of the burden of the heavy long-distance traffic is taken away from Berwick for most of the time and throughout the summer by the two alternative routes, the A.696/A.68 and the A.697 via Carter Bar and Wooler respectively.
§ LORD KILMANYMy Lords, I thank my noble friend for that considerable reply. May I ask two supplementary questions arising out of it? First, when did my noble friend last drive along the road from Alnwick to Edinburgh?—because it would be reassuring for the House to know that he realises the extent to which that particular stretch of road falls short of what the A.1 Edinburgh to London road should be. Secondly, may I ask whether my noble friend appreciates the full significance of allowing all the road transport priorities—it may be rail, too, but this Question relates to the 802 road—to switch from the East to the West; and does he realise the harm which this is bound to do to North-East England and South-East Scotland?
§ LORD SANDFORDMy Lords, the answer to the first of my noble friend's supplementary questions is: last summer, as far as Berwick. Beyond that point the environment ceases to be my particular responsibility. But I have, much more recently, had some considerable discussion with the divisional road engineer about the whole of this network. As to the last part of my noble friend's question, the fact that the M.6 is regarded as the main trunk road between England and Scotland does not in itself prevent traffic from choosing whichever route between England and Scotland is most convenient for its purpose.
§ LORD WYNNE-JONESMy Lords, is the noble Lord aware that in the northerly part of Northumberland, the continuation of viable villages depends very much upon making the A.1 a really satisfactory road?
§ LORD SANDFORDYes, my Lords; and the noble Lord will know that for those reasons Morpeth and Alnwick have been by-passed and only a fortnight ago Seaton Burn was by-passed.
§ LORD FERRIERMy Lords, as Alnwick and Dunbar have been by-passed, would my noble friend not agree that, if it was worth while to by-pass Dunbar, since Berwick is a more important centre of population such facilities might well be considered there as well?
§ LORD SANDFORDYes, my Lords, I can confirm that they are being considered with the greatest possible care. But the greater part of the problem—three quarters of it—is that of dealing with traffic which goes to Berwick because it has business there. The matter formed the subject of proposals put forward by the divisional road engineer, which were the subject of a public inquiry some months ago. Those particular proposals were rejected by the inspector who held the inquiry, but further consideration is continuing.