Catalogue description Transport Ministries: Highways General Planning (HGP and GPH series) Files

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Details of MT 120
Reference: MT 120
Title: Transport Ministries: Highways General Planning (HGP and GPH series) Files
Description:

This series contains files of the Highways General Planning Division and its successors registered in the HGP and GPH series. The files relate to the administration of the Road Fund, the road investment programme, liaison with the Ministry of Housing and Local Government about town and country planning, the trunk road master plan, preparation pool schemes, highway project feasibility studies, route strategy plans, the trunking and detrunking of highways and policy relating to the construction of trunk roads and motorways. Some files relate to specific schemes, including the Channel Tunnel.

Date: 1925-1982
Arrangement:

The records in this series have been transferred in more than one batch. In each transfer, the files are arranged in file reference order.

Separated material:

Some files from the GPH series have been re-registered in the HE file series in MT 95

Some files from this series have been re-registered in the HM series in MT 109

Some files from the GPH series have been re-registered in the HEU file series in MT 148

Some files from the GPH series have been re-registered in the EPU file series in MT 149

Held by: The National Archives, Kew
Former reference in its original department: HGP and GPH Series
Legal status: Public Record(s)
Language: English
Creator:

Department of the Environment, General Planning Highways Division, 1970-1975

Department of the Environment, Highways Planning and Management Division, 1975-1976

Department of Transport, Highways Planning and Management Division, 1976-1977

Department of Transport, Highways Programming, Contacts and Lands Division, 1977-1979

Ministry of Transport and Civil Aviation, Highways General Planning Division, 1956-1959

Ministry of Transport, General Planning Highways Division, 1965-1970

Ministry of Transport, Highways General Planning Division, 1959-1961

Physical description: 381 file(s)
Access conditions: Open
Immediate source of acquisition:

From 1984 Department of Transport

Selection and destruction information: Files of the HGP and GPH series which have been retained are those with a policy content or where the subject matter is of significant major importance.The files on the more routine subject matter such as trunk road preparation pool schemes and highway project feasibility studies have been destroyed.
Accruals: Series is accruing.
Administrative / biographical background:

The Highways Development and General Division, which was part of the Highways Administrative group, was formed in August 1951 primarily to deal with duties relating to planning, legislation and matters of common interest to the other Highways Divisions.

In March 1955, the Highways Administrative group was reconstituted with its functions being allocated between four divisions instead of three. The work of the Highways Development and General Division was split between the Highways Policy Division and the Highways Development Division.

In June 1956, further changes were made to the Highways Administrative group to deal with the increase in work arising from the expanded road construction and improvement programme. The functions of the group were split between five divisions with the creation of the Highways General Planning Division.

The Highways General Planning Division took over work relating to general policy questions on road maintenance and preparation of a long term national plan for roads and the administration of the road fund from the former Highways Policy Division. It also took over from the Highways Development Division, responsibility for liaison between Ministry of Transport and the Ministry of Housing and Local Government on policy matters concerning the Town and Country Planning Acts. In 1961, the Highways General Planning Division was disbanded with the regional aspect of its work being placed into the new regional orientated Highways A, B, N or O Divisions. Work which required a national or functional approach was transferred to the Highways Land and Development Division.

In 1965, the General Planning Highways Division (GPH) was created taking over responsibility for policy, planning and construction of new major roads from the Highways Special Roads Division. It was also responsible for the trunk classified roads programme and the monitoring of investment in the roads programme previously carried out by the Highways A,B,N and O Divisions. The General Planning Highways Division worked to the Director General of Highways.

In October 1966, the Highways Economics Unit (HEU) was established as an integral part of GPH reporting to the Director General of Economic Planning. This Unit used the HEU file series (MT 148). In 1973, the Highways Economics and Modelling Analysis Division (HEMA) replaced the Highways Economics Unit although there was no change in function. At the same time, the HEU prefix was abandoned in favour of HEMA.

In 1975, the General Planning Highways Division was abolished and the work shared between Highways Planning and Management Division and Highways Programming, Contracts and Land Division. In 1977, all work of the former General Planning Highways Division came under the Highways Programming Contracts and Land Division. In 1979, General Policy Highways Division was created and was responsible for work similar to that of the former General Planning Highways Division.

The Highways General Planning Division was responsible for the long term planning of motorways, trunk roads and classified roads (including the Trunk Road Master Plan). The Division also considered the economic problems of road planning and investment and the programming of new construction of motorway, trunk and classified roads. It exercised general control over the rate of commitment to trunk and classified road schemes and was responsible for producing the annual report on roads and the ten year programme of classified road maintenance and minor improvements. Other responsibilities of the Division included: deciding the general policy on the size and shape of the Government's Road Programme and the control of payments on Construction of highways (including Parliamentary Estimates, forecast estimates and outturns).

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