MT 95/317

South Orbital Road (M25): Surrey section

Date range	1957-1968
Location	National Archives (see all files stored here)
Catalogue	See entry
File base	Series MT, subseries MT 95

Context

I expected, on opening this file, that it would be a melting pot of miscellaneous stuff to do with the South Orbital Road, and I wasn't disappointed. It's a melting pot of miscellaneous stuff to do with other roads as well.

The earliest papers on the file actually relate to Transport Minister Harold Watkinson's decision to route the "D" Ring along existing roads in north west London, and some chatter about what standard they could be. It appears that the decision to make the "D" Ring all-purpose (at that time, later reversed) meant the MOT started thinking about the North and South Orbitals being motorways.

The paperwork then jumps suddenly forward to the mid 1960s, where it starts talking about all sorts of minutiae relating to the South Orbital.

Contents of note

• British Rail proposal to build a park and ride site at Merstham Station, linking with the South Orbital (now M25). The Surrey county engineer drew up a plan for a suitable interchange and found that all sorts of complex braiding was needed because it would be so close to Merstham Interchange.
• A plan of the M25 through Surrey with areas of "approved woodland" marked, whatever they are.
• Details of a Landscape Advisory Committee inspection of the South Orbital Road. An attached plan indicates the pub where they had lunch.

People with camera copies

Chris Marshall has a partial copy.