Cross-Channel Preliminaries
Page 55
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From our Political Correspondent
A LTHOUGH Mr. MarpIes hinted that I ‘ swift action on Channel-crossing talks would follow his meeting with France's M. Buron last month, I understand that talks between officials of both Ministries will not take real shape before Christmas. The French and British Ministries of Transport were still this week engaged on the "preliminaries for meetings to be held in both countries.
Who will talk about what, and to whom,. has not yet been finally decided, though it is known that the legal, financial and economic aspects as well as the present traffic flow will need to be carefully studied.
Mr. R. Gresham Cooke (Cons.,
Twickenham) prodded Mr. Marples in the Commons on November 22 that "private enterprise is ready to finance and to build a Channel tunnel without any recourse to public funds." He urged that the technical study which both Ministers had approved should go ahead seriously and quickly. Labour M.P.s, however, were swift to react to the effect that any undertaking should he by public means, and under public control, and not left to private developers.
In his replies, Mr. IvIarples promised that the joint study would proceed as speedily as possible.
The proposals now before the British and French Governments expound the possibilities of either a tunnel or a bridge. Mr. Marpies believes it would be wrong to ignore the costly data already amassed about a channel bridge. Information obtained about both bridge and tunnel possibilities by a special study group will be put to the experts when they eventually assemble.