RIBBON BUILDING

Evening Star, Issue 22026, 11 May 1935, Page 15

RIBBON BUILDING

WIDE POWERS TO HIGHWAY AUTHORITIES (British Official Wireless.) Press Association—By Telegraph—Uopyright , RUGBY, May 9. Wide powers are given to_ highway authorities under the Restriction of Ribbon Development Bill which has now been issued. It aims at dealing with the evil of ribbon building from two aspects —namely, traffic needs and the amenities of the .countryside. Powers will be given to enforce standard widths for Britain’s 43,000 miles of classified roads, and the consent of the authorities will be necessary before the laying out of any means of access to or from the road or erecting _ any building within 320 ft from the middle of the road. The authorities also have the right to acquire land, adjacent to the highway for road improvement or preservation of the amenities by the creation of pathways. [Ribbon development is the term given to the practice of building streets and houses and factories immediately adjacent to an arterial, road or bypass, often destroying the value of the road in affording a safe and speedy outlet to avoid congested areas.]