36. Mr. Vaneasked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food whether he will give an assurance that when acquiring land for the Forestry Commission to plant, he will do so on the understanding: hat whole farms should not be planted except in the rarest cases, but rather than planting should be planned so that the neighbouring agricultural land is sheltered and improved in other ways.
§ Mr. GodberIn practice it is seldom possible or desirable to plant a whole farm. and in every case the acquisition of the land for forestry and its allocation between forestry and agriculture is agreed between my Ministry and the Forestry Commission. I can assure my hon. Friend that the Forestry Commission is very much alive to the importance of planning its plantations to the advantage of neighbouring agricultural land.
Mr. VaneWill my hon. Friend ask his right hon. Friend to include some such paragraph in the speech which he may make in the country, in an area like the Towy Valley, which is still remembering the game of grab which right hon. Gentlemen opposite tried to play? Will he put an end once and for all to the idea that forestry and agriculture are mutual enemies in the hill lands, and point out that they should be partners working to their mutual advantage?
§ Mr. GodberI fully agree with the latter part of my hon. Friend's supplementary question, and I shall bring his request with regard to the first part to the notice of my right hon. Friend.
Mr. T. WilliamsIs the hon. Member aware, in regard to the suggestion of his hon. Friend the Member for Westmorland (Mr. Vane) about the gospel of grab in the Towy Valley, that the Towy Valley owners of that land have readily sold it freely to the Forestry Commission?