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Mr. Deputy Speaker (Sir Alan Haselhurst): Order. Before I call the Minister, may I say to the hon. Lady that the quotation that she used was inappropriate and should not have been used? I hope she will bear that in mind for a future occasion.
10.36 pm
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Transport (Mr. David Jamieson): I congratulate the hon. Member for Romsey (Sandra Gidley) on securing the debate. I know that she has taken a special interest in road safety on the Wellow section of the A36 and has corresponded regularly with the Department and discussed at first hand a number of safety issues with the Highways Agency and Hampshire county council officials. I was deeply saddened to learn of the deaths and serious injuries on the A36 this afternoon.
Our thoughts tonight must be with the families who have lost their loved ones, and with those who are injured. My latest information is that two have been killed, two others have life-threatening injuries and there are others with other injuries. That makes the debate even more poignant, as the hon. Lady said, but I am truly sorry that we must conduct it against the backdrop of such an appalling tragedy as happened today.
Although this country has a good road safety record compared with that of other countries, today's terrible tragedy shows that we cannot afford to be complacent. Such accidents make the Government all the more determined to improve our record. In the 10-year transport plan, we made a commitment to reduce deaths and serious injuries by 40 per cent. by 2010 compared with the average for 1994 to 1998, and there is also a 50 per cent. target for cutting child deaths and serious injuries. That is why we are putting the resources in place to improve safety. According to the latest information, we are well on the way to meeting those targets, but I am the first to accept that we have more to do and that there are still many roads on which the death rate is too high.
I should explain the current status of the A36, as it sets the background for how the road is currently operated by the Highways Agency. In December 2000 the
decision was taken to confirm the A36 Bath to Southampton trunk road as non-core. The Highways Agency is responsible for operating the road, maintaining it in good condition and carrying out any safety improvements to the route. Promotion of other improvements for reasons of environment, accessibility, economy and integration is the responsibility of local transport authorities. In the Wellow and Plaitford locality, Hampshire and Wiltshire county councils are the responsible authorities. Our aim is to transfer the responsibility for the road to the local transport authorities. If I have time, I shall say a little more about that later.I well understand the hon. Lady's concerns about safety on the A36 in her constituency. In the five-year period from June 1997 to May 2002 there have been 71 personal injury accidents. Three were fatal—that does not include today's appalling tragedy—nine were serious and 59 were slight. The accidents took place along the 4 km stretch of the A36 between New road in Plaitford and Fighting Cocks farm, to the south-west of West Wellow.
Those figures are approximately 20 per cent. higher than the national average for roads of this type. I hope that what I say today will demonstrate that we have not been idle in assessing the problem and working up and implementing appropriate solutions.
As the hon. Lady pointed out, there were plans for a bypass of West Wellow, but the proposal was withdrawn from the trunk road programme in 1994. Following that decision, a number of studies were commissioned along the route. They include a number of studies carried out by Hampshire county council, when it managed the road on behalf of the Highways Agency. The council looked at the 5.6 km length of the A36 between the Ower roundabout at the M27 and the Wiltshire-Hampshire border and, in particular, safety problems at the junction of the A36 and Whinwhistle road.
In 1999, WS Atkins became the managing agent for the Highways Agency for the A36. WS Atkins has carried out studies in the locality, including the Whinwhistle road junction improvement study in July 2001. A range of improvement options were identified and appraised in that study and a roundabout was considered the best long-term solution for improving the junction. More recently, the A36 Plaitford to West Wellow speed and safety study was initiated, and it is now substantially complete, although comments from Hampshire county council are still awaited. The study recommendations include reduction of the speed limit from Wellow to New road in Plaitford and provision of a crossing at the Canada Common roundabout.
Those studies have helped to inform the decisions on what works are required to tackle the problems identified. In the period between 2001 and 2003, the following works have been carried out in the Wellow area. In February 2002, the existing 40 mph speed limit area was extended by slightly less than 1.5 km to take in the junctions of School road and Whinwhistle road. Additional appropriate signing was erected and red surfacing was laid on the carriageway to emphasise the difficult nature of that section of the road. That work was carried out in recognition of the undulating nature of this section of the route and the resulting poor visibility, which, in combination with a number of
private accesses and two junctions, contributed to the accident record. The majority of collisions at the Whinwhistle road junction were nose-to-tail shunt collisions, which suggests that speed on the A36 was a contributory factor. We have also moved the advance direction signs on the approaches to Whinwhistle road to give better warning of the junction ahead and a new direction sign has been erected opposite the junction.The Wellow village name signs have been re-erected on the approaches to the village. The signs reinforce the village ambiance to drivers approaching Wellow. A major maintenance scheme was undertaken in April 2002 to improve the road surface between Plaitford and the Canada Common roundabout. I am sure that the hon. Lady will remember those works, as the A36 was closed for about four weeks to allow them to be carried out. A new footway was also provided as part of the scheme between the Shoe inn and Purley way in Plaitford. The new footpath will improve safety for pedestrians in the area, especially for those who are leaving the pub in the evening, although I am sure that her constituents are totally sober when they do so.
For 2003–04, we are planning to implement two schemes. The first will provide a puffin crossing at the eastern arm of the Canada Common roundabout to improve accessibility in that area of the village. The second will reduce the speed limit of 50 mph to 40 mph from Wellow through Plaitford to New road. The successful implementation of those schemes this year is subject to agreement with the police and local authorities, but I hope that there will be no unexpected delays. We shall also carry out a review of crossing points throughout Plaitford and West Wellow to identify locations where dropped kerbs and refuges can be provided to encourage safe movement through the villages. We also consider that those measures will help to change the character of the road to emphasise that people are crossing the road at those points and that drivers should therefore reduce their speeds.
The Highways Agency is part of the Hampshire safety camera partnership and is working with its partners to provide two cameras at Whinwhistle road junction. We consider that cameras in that location will reduce speeds and therefore the numbers of nose-to-tail shunt collisions at the junction, which we believe are the main indicator of why the collisions are occurring. They mainly involve vehicles trying to turn right into Whinwhistle road and other vehicles approaching from behind or moving towards them too quickly.
Other works planned for 2003 in the Wellow area include improvements to the bus stop at Whinwhistle road to provide raised kerbs, a new shelter and an extended footway. We will also add further 40 mph signs and surface treatment on the carriageway to further encourage drivers to reduce their speed.
I have already referred to the Whinwhistle road junction improvement study of July 2001, which recommended a roundabout at Whinwhistle road. That will reduce traffic speeds and right-turn accidents and act as a gateway to the village from the south-east, thereby improving safety and accessibility in the area. We plan to carry out the scheme in the year 2005–06, but that is subject to the successful purchase of the land required and the availability of funding. Let me assure the hon. Lady that I am aware that the location is in a sensitive landscape area adjoining the New Forest, and
that will be a major consideration in the design of the scheme. Today, however, in her mind and in the minds of her constituents, the main issue at that junction must be that of safety.As was mentioned earlier, in the longer term responsibility for the A36 will be transferred to the local transport authorities when the road is de-trunked. Therefore, safety on the A36 in the Plaitford and Wellow area will become matters for Hampshire and Wiltshire county councils. The decision to de-trunk the A36 was reaffirmed by the Secretary of State in December 2000. However, as the hon. Lady pointed out, the south-west regional assembly—the regional planning body for the south-west—continued to have outstanding concerns about aspects of de-trunking the road further north of this section of the A36. I undertake to look at those issues to determine whether the delays can be reduced. I take the hon. Lady's point when she asks why one region should be affected by the deliberations of another, although if the whole road is to be de-trunked I am sure that she appreciates that it has to be done as one. We shall consider whether any of the problems can be overcome to get the de-trunking moving.
Following preliminary discussions with representatives from local transport authorities along the corridor, the Highways Agency and English Heritage, the Government office for the south-west
commissioned a study entitled "The Bristol/Bath to South Coast Study" to supplement existing information derived from an earlier study. The study commenced in July 2002 and is likely to report in July 2003. Its overall aim is not to consider further whether the route should be de-trunked, but to recommend an appropriate strategy to manage the north-west to south-east axis transport corridor between Bristol and Bath and the south coast. In particular, it also aims to develop an integrated transport strategy to address the issues relating to through traffic in the corridor of the historic city of Bath. The findings of the study are to be reported to the south-west regional assembly to allow it to consider what changes it might wish to recommend to the south-west regional transport strategy.I am grateful for the opportunity to explain our plans and to listen and respond to some of the concerns expressed by the hon. Lady about improving safety along the A36 in Wellow, both in the short and longer term. I hope that I have at least been able to demonstrate our commitment to safety on the road in general and in the Wellow area in particular. The terrible tragedy on this stretch of road this afternoon, in which people were killed and seriously injured, with all the misery that that causes, spurs us on in Government to redouble our efforts in progressing the improvements and thereby improving road safety in the area.
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