HC Deb 19 April 1967 vol 745 cc86-8W
Mr. Heseltine

asked the Minister of Transport what progress is being made with the joint land use/transportation studies set up by her Department with a number of local authorities as listed in the appendix to Chapter 5 of Roads in England; and if she will make a statement.

Mr. Swingler

The situation is as follows:

London and the Conurbations

London Work is progressing on the final phase, which will provide material for the development plan for Greater London that the Greater London Council is to submit to the Minister of Housing and Local Government at the end of 1968.

West Midlands The Study as originally planned has now been completed. This has entailed the forecasting of travel demand for 1981 and the assignment of that demand to two possible transportation systems for that year. The final report will be available during the summer. Meanwhile discussions are proceeding with the local authorities on the further work necessary to produce a transportation plan and how this might be organised.

South East Lancashire and North East Cheshire (SELNEC) The Study will be taken over from the consultants at the conclusion of data collection and analysis phase in the spring of this year and continued by local authority staff working with Ministry of Transport Headquarters.

Merseyside Most of the data collection has been completed and data editing and checking are proceeding.

Tees-side This study was designed as a comprehensive redevelopment exercise for the area as a whole. The main study began in July, 1965. A number of alternative land-use strategies for the future have been compared and one chosen for development and refinement during the remainder of the study. This work is expected to be completed by the end of 1967, and the report published by July, 1968.

West Yorkshire Work on the main study which is expected to take about 18 months to complete, started in March, 1967. This study is different from the other conurbation studies in that it concentrates on movements between the towns in the area and between the area and the rest of the country. This reflects the geographical structure of the conurbation and the fact that transport planning is already well advanced in the more congested individual towns in the area.

Studies outside London and the conurbations Of the studies listed in the Appendix to Chapter 5 of "Roads in England" for the year ended 31st March, 1966, reports on those in Plymouth and Worcester have now been completed and are being considered by the local authorities concerned. Progress on the remainder is as follows:

Hull The Project Report has been approved and fieldwork for the main survey has begun. A preliminary report is expected mid-1968.

Motorway All Purpose Trunk Road Class I Class II Class III Unclassified Total
391 8,335 19,909 17,632 49,000 106,792 202,059

The motorway mileage includes 8 miles of classified motorways.

Torbay Area The final report is expected October, 1967.

Brighton and Hove Area Preliminary Report is expected early 1968.

Stoke Area The Project Report is now under discussion and data collection is now expected to start in the autumn.

South Staffordshire Fieldwork is proceeding. The study is expected to be completed in February, 1969.

Exeter This is expected to be completed in mid-1968.

Brentwood The final report is due this summer.

Weston-super-Mare Fieldwork is nearing completion. The study is expected to be completed in the summer, 1968.

Oxford To be completed summer, 1968.

Coventry Work is expected to start this summer. Studies are now also being undertaken in a number of other towns.