Channel Bridge ? Minister Doubts Feasibility
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FROM OUR POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT
NA JULES MOCH and his French IVI• friends who are advocating a £210 million Channel bridge had a long private meeting with Mr. Marples at the week-end to try to enlist his enthusiasm for their cause.
I understand that the British Minister of Transport quietly rejected the whole idea—six-lane traffic routes, heliports, mid-Channel motel and restaurant—the lot.
To back up his view he deployed the considerable arguments of the anti-bridge faction in England, who say that such an obstruction of the Channel would be ludicrous. But Mr. Marples also brought more powerful contentions to bear. He said that the Scandinavian countries in particular would never agree to such an obstacle being placed in an international waterway—and an oft-times foggy one at that, And as his final blow he said that its construction would need agree ment at an 'international convention, at which the Russians could delay the project for years, if not for ever.
Meanwhile, a bridge is still technically on the agenda of the continuing joint studies by Anglo-French government experts on the diplomatic, financial, technical and economic problems involved in a new crossing. But the signs are that the British are leaning more and more heavily in favour of some sort of tunnel.
Whatever conclusion is being reached, there is mounting impatience for a decision, in principle at least, on whether we shall have a tunnel, a bridge, or nothing at all.
. It would be useful to have a decision before we go into the Common Market. It may be that the timing of a decision will be held up. as premature release of this decision might point too obviously to the fact that we were entering the Market.