§ 7. Mr. Osborneasked the Under-Secretary of State for Air how many acres are occupied by the Royal Air Force; and 1698 how much additional land has been taken over in each of the last three years.
Mr. Ward199,500 acres in the United Kingdom are occupied by the Royal Air Force. 2,263 acres of new land were acquired in 1951; 1,534 acres in 1952, and 1,890 acres in 1953 so far. However, these acquisitions have been more than offset by the release, during the same period, of nearly 7,000 acres previously held on requisition.
§ Mr. OsborneCould my hon. Friend give an assurance that agricultural land is not being taken unnecessarily? Can he say how much of the 190,000 acres that are occupied are being cultivated?
Mr. WardI willingly give the assurance for which my hon. Friend asks. We take agricultural land very reluctantly and only when we really must. As regards the second part of my hon. Friend's question, 79,000 acres of airfields in active use are being cultivated. It is not easy to give the exact figures, for other places, such as bombing ranges, although even at these some land is cultivated outside the danger limits.