§ 24. Mr. Farrasked the Minister of Transport if, in view of the need to restrict public expenditure, he will transfer effort and expenditure away from schemes for new trunk roads and concentrate available resources on providing for bypasses for historic towns and villages, in order to arrest deterioration of their fabric caused by heavy lorries and other traffic.
§ Mr. Kenneth ClarkeWe are reviewing the roads programme. The only completely new trunk roads contemplated are on major industrial routes but these themselves will relieve many historic towns and villages. In assessing priorities we intend to find room for an early start on a number of urgently needed bypasses which will achieve the aims described by my hon. Friend.