§ 38. Mr. Patrick Maitlandasked the President of the Board of Trade whether he is now able to call industrialists' attention to the possibilities of a site at Douglas, Lanarkshire, where there are subsidised houses standing empty, good road and rail communication, abundant water, coal and electricity, surplus sewerage capacity and a labour force which has been virtually strike-free for years.
§ Sir D. EcclesWe will be able to tell firms which sites in Douglas are available for industrial use as soon as the development plan is approved. If in the meantime an industrialist should want a particular site, the Board of Trade and county council would deal with that case in advance of and apart from the development plan.
§ Mr. MaitlandWould my right hon. Friend be prepared to try to interest industrialists in the area in general and then, if they bite the bait, lead them to a particular site which could be cleared by the county council instead of waiting for the county council to prepare an overall development plan which, I gather might take some time, so that, therefore, we might miss opportunities which exist of trying to interest firms in general in the area where, as my right hon. Friend knows, there are particular sites which could be made available if necessary?
§ Sir D. EcclesI do not wish any opportunity to be missed and I am doing what my hon. Friend has asked.