47. Wing-Commander Jamesasked the Minister of Agriculture whether his attention has been drawn to the announcement of the appointment of a consulting engineer by the Minister of Town and Country Planning to carry out a technical investigation of the possibilities of restoration of land damaged by quarrying for ironstone; and whether he proposes to take any steps to examine the possibilities of restoration of any such land for agricultural use.
§ The Minister of Agriculture (Mr. R. S. Hudson)Yes, Sir. This question has been under consideration by my Department for some time. With the help of the companies concerned, a number of plots were levelled, and crop and fertiliser experiments have been conducted by the Northampton War Agricultural Executive Committee on my behalf. These experiments are now in their second year. The problems are complex, but the results are sufficiently encouraging to justify the inquiry into the engineering problems of levelling which was announced by my right hon. Friend the Minister of Town and Country Planning. The whole matter is being handled jointly by our two Departments.