§ 29. Mr. Benceasked the President of the Board of Trade what steps he has taken to reacquire the industrial site in Clydebank now held by Messrs. Ingersoll, Rand Ltd.
§ Mr. GreenNone, Sir. There would be no advantage in re-acquiring the site until a development were in prospect.
§ Mr. BenceIs not the situation intolerable that this company has held this site for five or six years but seems to have no intention of using it? It is a little bit of Scotland, as I have said before. Will the hon. Gentleman reacquire it so that some industrialist wishing to start up in Clydebank can use the site?
§ Mr. GreenI can assure the hon. Gentleman—this was implicit in my Answer to his original Question—that of course we would consider reacquiring the site for any firm likely to provide employment commensurate with its size, but so far we just do not have such a prospect.
§ Mr. RossIs not the hon. Gentleman aware that in a recent Report of the Estimates Committee it was suggested 1124 that this was just what we should do—have sites ready in advance to show people?
§ Mr. GreenI have already said that the site is there and would be reacquired if there were a reasonable prospect of using it. Meantime, no doubt the lessee is paying the rent.