§ 44. Mr. SCURRasked the Secretary of State for Air whether, seeing that buildings and 179 acres of land, at Castle Bromwich, Birmingham, have been purchased by the Air Ministry for £60,000, he can say whether it is proposed to build a new aerodrome on this site; if so, the estimated cost; whether this land was formerly in the possession of the Ministry; and, if so, what was the price realised at its sale?
§ Sir S. HOAREAs regards the first and second parts of the question, it is not proposed to build a new aerodrome, but merely to recondition and modify the existing buildings in such a way that, with some timber hutting, they will meet the requirements of an Auxiliary Air Force squadron, and the estimated cost thus involved is £30,000. As regards the third and fourth parts of the question, the land was formerly occupied under compulsory powers, not owned, by the Air Ministry, and when it was relinquished the price realised for the buildings by the Disposal Board, including both those sold for removal and those left in situ, was £18,000.
§ Mr. HARMSWORTHMay I ask whether the right hon. Gentleman realises that this land works out at about £335 an acre, and whether he considers that any other land cheaper than that would not have done as well?
§ Sir S. HOAREWe made very full investigations in the neighbourhood. Our difficulty was to get land close to Birmingham and neighbourhood. I am afraid this was the cheapest land we could find.