The M3 Inquiry 1976-1977 - Trust Annual Report 1977
The M3 Inquiry was in session for 111 days, spread over twelve months. The right to examine need for the motorway was conceded in July 1976, because this had not been done at the 1971 Inquiry, and it was considered that the lapse of time and change of circumstances warranted a review of the whole scheme.
Attention has been focussed on the Navigation this year, because the original plan for the M3 required that it should be stopped up. It was pointed out at the Inquiry that no powers existed which could accomplish this as the Navigation was established by several Acts of Parliament dating back to 1665. These had never been repealed although the last barge made the trip in 1869. This made it necessary for the Department to open a second Inquiry following the side roads.
The ownership of the Navigation is vested in the descendents of the original shareholders and mortgagors, only a few of whom can be traced, but the crucial point is that the rights of navigation are independent of the ownership of the banks and any attempt to impede the course of the navigation is likely to result in lengthy litigation.
To meet this situation the Road Construction Unit hastily replanned the scheme and now proposes to re-route the navigation so that the flow and width can be maintained. This, however, presents formidable problems, and the construction of an embankment where the surface of the water will be 6ft above the water meadows with a higher tow path alongside. Some astonishment was apparent at the Inquiry, when it was learned that the water would be retained by plastic sheeting, a material which would be easily damaged by the frequent dredging required to maintain the flow. Another hazard will arise from springs known to exist under the watercourse at other places. This could lead to the appearance of 'Loch Ness Monsters' as water rises under the plastic. The Navigation, of course, has other important functions of irrigation and drainage, while to the people of Winchester it is an important area of recreation which would be greatly damaged if the M3 were ever built.
The Acts of Parliament provide that there shall be a number of Commissioners who still exist by virtue of their office. Thus the Mayors of Winchester and Southampton are Commissioners so is the Dean of Winchester and the Warden of Winchester College as well as magistrates of the district. It was the duty of the Commissioners to confirm the rates to be charged, to see that the navigation and irrigation were properly maintained, and to hear complaints from users of the navigation and the adjoining landowners, and to prevent as far as possible the abuses of a monopoly. Aggrieved citizens had the right to summon the Commissioners by posting a notice on the Butter Cross which was duly done during the summer by one of the societies interested in preserving the Navigation for the benefit of the citizens. It is believed that the Department of Transport could only have acted correctly if they had served notice of their intention to the Clerk of the Peace as convener of the Commissioners. The legal position is extremely complex.
A considerable length of the Navigation passes within the city boundary and thereby misses the protection of the designated area of out-standing natural beauty lying a little further to the east. It is a curious freak of legislation that the river Itchen itself and the navigation, the outstanding features of the valley, are without statutory protection. A request was made some years ago by the Preservation Trust that they should be protected, but this was ignored presumably because of the proposed M3.