Asked by: Andrew Gwynne (Labour - Denton and Reddish)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to the Answers of 11 January 2021 to Questions 131200 and 131201, if he will ask Highways England to mark England’s historic county boundaries on the strategic roads network in line with the Government's guidance on Celebrating the historic counties of England dated 16 July 2019.
Answered by Rachel Maclean
Pursuant to the Answers to Questions and 131200 and 131201, the Department has no plans to ask Highways England to implement historic county boundary signs on the Strategic Road Network (SRN).
Asked by: Andrew Gwynne (Labour - Denton and Reddish)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to the answer of 11 January 2020 to Question 131200 on Road Signs and Markings: Cultural Heritage, what steps his Department is taking to implement the Government's guidance on Celebrating the historic counties of England dated 16 July 2019, on the motorway and trunk road network through Highways England.
Answered by Rachel Maclean
Pursuant to the answer to Questions 127499, 127500 and 127501, the Department has no plans to ask Highways England to implement historic county boundary signs on the Strategic Road Network (SRN).
Asked by: Andrew Gwynne (Labour - Denton and Reddish)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to the Answers of 14 December 2020 to Questions 127499, 127500 and 127501, what steps his Department is taking to support the implementation of the Government's guidance on Celebrating the historic counties of England dated 16 July 2019.
Answered by Rachel Maclean
The Department for Transport has permitted the use of historic county boundary signs through the Traffic Signs Regulations and General Directions 2016. Guidance is provided to local authorities in DfT Circular 01/2016 and in Chapter 7 of the Traffic Signs Manual. Decisions on whether to place such signs are for local authorities.
DfT Circular 01/2016 is available at
The Traffic Signs Manual is available at
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/traffic-signs-manual
Asked by: Andrew Gwynne (Labour - Denton and Reddish)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to the Answer of 14 December 2020 to Question 127502, whether the £1 million fund for Control Period 6 (1 April 2019-31 March 2024) is specifically for brick repair and de-vegetation work on the Stockport rail viaduct and no other projects.
Answered by Chris Heaton-Harris - Secretary of State for Northern Ireland
The £1 Million fund for Control Period 6 (1 April 2019 – 31 March 2024) is specifically for the upkeep of the Stockport Rail Viaduct, including brick repair, de-vegetation work and maintenance of rainwater goods (downpipes, weep pipes and troughing along the construction joints).
Asked by: Andrew Gwynne (Labour - Denton and Reddish)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if he will ask Network Rail to remove the graffiti from the parapet of the Windmill Lane railway bridge in Denton, first reported to them by the hon. Member for Denton and Reddish in September 2019.
Answered by Chris Heaton-Harris - Secretary of State for Northern Ireland
My officials have been in contact with colleagues in Network Rail who, in turn, I understand, have been in touch with your office. Network Rail apologise that this issue took so long to rectify.
I can confirm that the local maintenance team visited the site and cleaned the graffiti over the weekend of 12/13 December 2020.
Network Rail colleagues have confirmed they have updated your office of actions taken.
Asked by: Andrew Gwynne (Labour - Denton and Reddish)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what recent discussions he has had with Network Rail on the condition of the Stockport rail viaduct.
Answered by Chris Heaton-Harris - Secretary of State for Northern Ireland
No recent discussions have taken place with Network Rail on the condition of the Stockport rail viaduct.
Asked by: Andrew Gwynne (Labour - Denton and Reddish)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if he will ask Network Rail to set out a timetable for (a) the removal of graffiti, (b) the restoration of the brickwork and (c) the removal of overgrowth and vegetation on the Stockport rail viaduct.
Answered by Chris Heaton-Harris - Secretary of State for Northern Ireland
Stockport Viaduct is a vital part of the railway infrastructure and Network Rail take seriously the responsibility to maintain it in safe working order. They carry out detailed examinations of the structure and address any defects or problems these highlight. This year Network Rail have spent £50k on repairing the brick work in areas highlighted by their examinations.
The main vegetation growth on the viaduct is buddleia which is challenging to manage as it grows so quickly. Network Rail have a specific £1m fund for Control Period 6 (1 April 2019- 31 March 2024) to be used on brick repair and de-vegetation work on the viaduct.
The viaduct is a listed structure in recognition of its importance to Stockport’s industrial heritage. Network Rail look to manage any graffiti on the viaduct in accordance with their policies and will review any specific areas of concern and will take action where appropriate.
Asked by: Andrew Gwynne (Labour - Denton and Reddish)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if he will ask Highways England to set out a timetable for the removal of graffiti from gantries and road signs on the M60 motorway through Stockport.
Answered by Rachel Maclean
Highways England aims to remove from sight the graffiti currently on its structures in Stockport within the next three months.
Highways England is working closely with the Department to tackle the issue of graffiti on structures along the strategic road network in England. Graffiti on these structures is removed from sight within twenty-four hours of being reported if it is offensive, obscene, blasphemous or racist. Non-offensive graffiti, as appears along the M60 through Stockport, would normally be removed from sight at a later date, when Highways England is undertaking other works in the area in order to minimise disruption to road users, or as part of Highways England’s regular cycle of clean and sweep activity.
Asked by: Andrew Gwynne (Labour - Denton and Reddish)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether he has made an assessment of the potential merits of encouraging local authorities and Highways England to mark the historic boundaries of the County Palatine of Lancaster, which are still extant administrative boundaries for certain Duchy purposes, in accordance with section 3.47 of the Traffic Signs Regulations and General Directions 2016.
Answered by Rachel Maclean
The decision on whether to mark historic county boundaries on road signs is for each local highway authority, or, in the case of the Strategic Road Network, for Highways England, to consider. Highways England has no plans to install any such signs.
Asked by: Andrew Gwynne (Labour - Denton and Reddish)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if his Department will take steps to mark the boundaries of the historic county Palatine of Lancaster and of historic Cheshire on the M60 and M67 motorways through Stockport and Tameside in accordance with section 3.47 of the Traffic Signs Regulations and General Directions 2016.
Answered by Rachel Maclean
The decision on whether to mark historic county boundaries on road signs is for each local highway authority, or, in the case of the Strategic Road Network, for Highways England, to consider. Highways England has no plans to install any such signs.