§ 11. Mr. Anthony Greenwoodasked the Minister of Works if he will make a statement on the destruction of 100 yards of Wat's Dyke.
§ Mr. MolsonThe Ministry's policy has been to schedule under the Ancient Monuments Acts those sections of the Border Dykes considered to be especially worthy of protection. The section of Wat's Dyke, near Mold, to which I assume the hon. Member refers, was not scheduled. When my Department was notified of a proposal to develop the land concerned for housing, it was felt, after consideration, that the character and interest of this short section of the monument were not sufficient to justify the permanent sterilisation of the site. Permission was, however, sought and obtained to examine it archaeologically before its release for building.
§ Mr. GreenwoodCan the Minister say why it took two months, after his Ministry was notified of the decision to excavate on the dyke, before his Department took any action at all? Can he say what answer he has given to the Flint-shire Historical Society, which urged him to survey the rest of the dyke and to schedule such parts of it as may be felt to be necessary.
§ Mr. MolsonThe delay was due to a certain misunderstanding as to what the position was and what the intentions were. With regard to the second point in the hon. Gentleman's supplementary question, we propose to have general discussions with the local planning authorities on the future of the dyke as a whole. We are considering the desirability of scheduling certain additional parts, but not the whole of the dyke.
Mr. Idwal JonesIs the Minister aware that Wat's Dyke and Offa's Dyke were the result of peaceful arrangement between Saxon and Celt in the eighth century, and that it will be a very great tragedy indeed to demolish this example of an early attempt to establish peaceful co-existence between two different races of people?
§ Mr. MolsonI feel that the relations between Saxon and Celt are now so much more cordial that even a dividing line of that kind is no longer necessary.