1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
29
30
31
32
33
34
35
36
37
38
39
40
41
42
43
44
45
46
47
48
49
50
51
52
53
54
55
56
57
58
59
60
61
62
63
64
65
66
67
68
69
70
71
72
73
74
75
76
77
78
79
80
81
82
83
84
85
86
87
88
89
90
91
92
93
94
95
96
97
98
99
100
101
102
103
104
105
106
107
108
109
110
111
112
113
114
115
116
117
118
119
120
121
122
123
124
125
126
127
128
129
130
131
132
133
134
135
136
137
138
139
140 
Bill to Improve Rural Roads Debated
Page 91
If you've noticed an error in this article please click here to report it so we can fix it.
THE Agriculture (Improvement of Roads) Bill was given a second reading in the House of Commons last week. Mr. D. Heathcoat Amory, Minister of Food, said that the measure would give power to him and the Secretary of State for Scotland to make grants to highway authorities for the improvement of unclassified and unadopted roads in livestock-rearing areas.
At present, such roads were ineligible for direct aid from the Government, and many had fallen into such a bad state that they were not capable of meeting the demands that modern agriculture put upon them.
A local authority would be able to receive a grant on condition that it adopted the road and undertook the responsibility for its future maintenance. A sum of £4m. had been allocated for aid during the next 10 years, and contributions up to two-thirds of the cost of improvement works would be donated. The length of road that required grants was, however, unknown.
Sir Robert Boothby (Con., Aberdeenshire East) thought that the sum was too small. " I am sure that the condition of our roads is having a bad effect on farming efficiency," he said.
"We should not have a tiddling little measure which is inadequate to deal with the problem. We need a comprehensive measure for dealing with unclassified roads in the rural areas throughout the country on an adequate scale, and with adequate funds," he declared.
New Road Campaign Opens
THE first of a number of area campaigns to be launched throughout Britain by the Roads Campaign Council during the coming months opened in Scotland on Monday. Designed to gain support for a Scottish petition to Parliament for better roads, it is backed by an exhibition which will be held in Glasgow until July 6 and will open in Edinburgh on July 11.
A mobile cinema, showing the Council's film, "The Great Hold-up," will tour the country. Petition forms will be available at the exhibition, on the cinema van and at garages throughout Scotland If a road loan were raised, the cost of a £750m. 10-year improvements programme could be spread over 30 years. The peak annual cost of interest and repayments wocild be 145m.—a mere fraction of present road taxation, said Mr. Hugo O'Hear, secretary of the Council.
[The amount received annually by the Government from the taxation of vehicles exceeds £400m.)
Road Grant "Meagre"
THE Minister of Transport's allocation from the current year's Exchequer funds for road improvement in the London area was described as " meagre " in the report of the London County Council's town planning corntnittee which was placed before the council on Tuesday. Hope was expressed that he would soon sanction a more precise and substantial programme.
About half the £200,000 allocated represented schemes postponed by the Minister from 1954-55, the report stated, and the other half represented the extent to which he had met the council's proposals—totalling f Im.— for allocations in 1955-56.
Swan-song of Road Fund? Swan-song of Road Fund?
ONE of the purposes of the Miscellaneous Financial Provisions Bill, which was read for the first time in the, House of Commons last week, is to wind up the Road Fund. It gives effect to a recommendation of the House of Commons Select Committee on Estimates last year that the Fund should be abolished and expenditure on the roads provided for in a normal department vote.