HC Deb 18 May 1960 vol 623 c1262
28. Mr. Driberg

asked the Secretary of State for Air what will be the size of the three large balls which are to form part of the Fylingdales early-warning station.

The Secretary of State for Air (Mr. George Ward)

They will be 140 ft. in diameter.

Mr. Driberg

Was the right hon. Gentleman entirely serious when he seemed to think it possible to landscape such gigantic balls so that they would harmonise with their natural surroundings? Would it not be better to leave them stark and white, as an interesting example, perhaps, of functional architecture, with a certain macabre beauty of their own, and as an appropriate symbol of the general insanity in which we are involved?

Mr. Ward

As I told the hon. Gentleman last week, we are, of course, taking the advice in this matter of an expert landscape consultant.

Mr. Chetwynd

Would the Secretary of State deny that the erection of these three brass balls is a visible sign that we are in pawn to Uncle Sam in this part of the National Park?

Mr. Ward

I know that some hon. Gentlemen on the opposite side would like to blackball the whole project, but personally I think it is a very useful one.