Ministry of Transport: Highways B (HB Series) Files

These series consists of files of the Highways B Division of the Highways and Traffic, Southern Group, relating to all aspects of highway administration in Wales, Monmouthshire and the southern counties of England except Buckinghamshire, Kent and London. Many files relate to particular areas and schemes including the Dartford Tunnel.

The subject matter of the files includes: the selection of individual schemes for inclusion in the roads programme; policy on planning blight grants; the maintenance, improvement and construction of roads and bridges; policy relating to road tolls and loans; ferries; maintenance and improvement grants for classified roads; the administration of traffic censuses; and research, particularly research addressing the problem of traffic in towns.

• Ministry of Transport, Highways B Division, 1960-1964
• Ministry of Transport, Highways Management B Division, 1964-1965

from 2000 Department of the Environment, Transport and the Regions

from 1986 to 1997 Department of Transport

Topics

Road Transport

Transport management

The Group and the Division were set up on 3 October 1960 under a reorganisation of the Highways and Traffic Groups and were dissolved in early 1964 under a reorganisation of the Headquarters Highways Organisation.

The Division had responsibility for highway administration in Wales and Monmouthshire and the southern counties of England except Buckinghamshire, Kent and the London Metropolitan Traffic Area. It was responsible, in liaison with the Highways Engineering and other road divisions, for policy on the Government's road programme and for selecting individual road schemes for inclusion in the programme. Other responsibilities included the preparation of the Ministry's Annual Report on Roads, policy on grants relating to planning blight, and the maintenance, improvement, and construction of roads and bridges.

The Division also had charge of administering the provisions of the Public Utilities Street Works Act 1950, the general supervision of the rate of commitment on classified roads, the preparation of quarterly reports on the state of classified roads schemes, policy on tolls and loans, and the administrative aspects of traffic census and research. It provided liaison with the Ministry of Housing and Local Government and dealt with general policy questions relating to the Local Government Commission for England and Wales and also general questions relating to classified roads.