South-west England (Long-term Economic Plan)
Debate between Peter Heaton-Jones and Liam Fox
Dr Fox
The tunnelling to which my hon. Friend refers is a big improvement not only in the transport infrastructure, but in the tourist infrastructure, which go hand in hand. I will come back to that point in a moment.
Such transport infrastructure issues are to be found right across the south-west. Those of us who have campaigned extensively on these matters know all too well how two points on a map, which might look pretty close, can, in effect, be a long way apart. A very good example of that is getting to Barnstaple. On that point, I will give way to my hon. Friend.
Peter Heaton-Jones (North Devon) (Con)
That seemed almost planned. Will my right hon. Friend join me in welcoming the announcement made by the Chancellor today in the Red Book of £1.5 million to start planning work for the North Devon link road? Will he join me in hoping that we can push that ahead, because it is a vital piece of infrastructure for economic development and tourism in North Devon?
Dr Fox
The North Devon link road is a vital piece of infrastructure. If we are serious about spreading prosperity throughout the region and if we are able to get those with capital to invest and to create the jobs, they must be able to get there. One problem that we have, even in the more affluent parts such as around the southern part of Bristol, is the fact that our transport infrastructure is very poor. We may have low unemployment in my constituency and we may be able to provide many jobs, but where do we get the labour from if people cannot travel from a relatively close conurbation such as Bristol and Weston-super-Mare to get to where the jobs can be provided?