M.P.s Press for Road-access Powers in Bill
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FROM OUR POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT CONSERVATIVE and Labour M.P.s were united this week in demanding that the new National Ports Council should have powers to press the Minister of Transport for adequate road and rail access to the major harbours of Britain.
The Government seems to have left out of its Harbours Bill this salient part of the Rochdale Report. It is significant to note that, whatever the hauliers think about this omission, it is the Chamber of Shipping which has drawn the attention of M.P.s to it in no uncertain way.
The committee believes that right down from the motorway and main trunk pro
grammes to the programmes of local authorities, the needs of the ports should be the subject of the closest co-operation, locally and nationally.
Another job for the new ports authority should be to make sure that local planning did not "freeze" areas through which major road developments to ports must go. The argument now is that unless the need for all this is written into the Bill it could go by default.
In view of the fundamental attitude being taken by both Conservative and Labour M.P.s as the Bill goes through committee, the Government may have to give in because of popular demand.