§ 9. Mr. Haymanasked the Parliamentary Secretary for Science whether he will make a statement on the proposal of the Atomic Energy Authority to establish a seismic instrument site in the Dartmoor National Park.
§ Mr. Denzil FreethI am advised by the Atomic Energy Authority that it proposes to set up a small temporary listening post, for occasional use during the next twelve months, on War Office land near Okehampton in the Dartmoor National Park. It would provide information on the detection of explosions in support of the Geneva talks on the control of nuclear tests. Small charges of conventional explosives would be detonated elsewhere in the course of these experiments, but there would be no explosions on the site. Care will be taken to ensure that there is no interference with the amenities of the district.
§ Mr. HaymanFirst, was the Dartmoor National Park Committee consulted before this site was set up? Secondly, is it really necessary to have a site on Dartmoor, because there is plenty of granite elsewhere in Devon and Cornwall? Thirdly, will the Parliamentary Secretary ask the Atomic Energy Authority to reconsider the whole proposal and bear in mind that the national parks were not provided as playgrounds for Government Departments?
§ Mr. FreethIn answer to the first part of the supplementary question, no less 1169 than six bodies were consulted, namely, the Duchy of Cornwall as the landowners, the Dartmoor Commoners' Association, the Devon County Council, the National Parks Committee for Dartmoor, the Okehampton Rural Di strict Council, and the Dartmoor Preservation Association. Only the Dartmoor Preservation Association objected to this site being used for this purpose. The site was chosen because of the special geological formations and because it is away from main roads and railways, thus providing a suitable silent background for the work. The answer to the hon. Gentleman's third question is, "No, Sir".