§ 85. Mr. R. W. Elliottasked the Minister of Transport whether he is aware that in confirming the Newcastle-upon-Tyne (Street Playgrounds) (No. 1) Order, 1963, he ignored the objections of nearly all of the residents of the three streets named in the order, namely, Queen's Terrace, Cavendish Place, and Devonshire Place; and why he did not order a public inquiry to inform himself of the full merits of the case, as he is empowered to do under Section 49(3) of the Road Traffic Act, 1960.
§ Mr. MarplesResidents frequently object to the creation of play streets. I rely upon the local authority to judge the balance of advantage in these conflicts of interest and I normally intervene only on traffic grounds. In practice the disturbance by children tends to be much 155W less than is expected by the residents. In the circumstances I do not think a public inquiry justified.