§ Mr. Iremonger83, 84 and 85. asked the Minister of Transport and Civil Aviation (1) what estimate he has had made of the number of cars that can be accommodated in private and commercial garages in the metropolitan police area, excluding central London; how many cars are owned by residents in that area at present; and what the estimated number will be in one, two, three, four and five years' time;
- (2) what consideration he has given to the problems raised by the continuous parking of vehicles in residential areas in the metropolitan police area; and whether he will make a statement;
- (3) whether he will introduce legislation to protect the right of the occupier of a house to leave his vehicle outside it while at the same time safeguarding the interests of other road users and the need of public services such as fire, street cleaning, refuse disposal and ambulance services to have access to premises and, where necessary, parts of the highway.
§ Mr. NugentNo comprehensive estimate has been made of the number of cars in outer London which can be accommodated off the highway. The number of private cars registered in 1956, the last year for which figures are available, in the counties of London and Middlesex together, was 475,000, and the number has been increasing annually by about 8 per cent. Some parking of cars in residential areas is a convenience to residents, but as the highway is not provided for this purpose cars so parked are at risk of a breach of the law for obstruction. I do not think there are grounds for altering the law on this subject at present.