§ Q2. Mr. Longdenasked the Prime Minister what consideration Her Majesty's Government have given to the effect of the growth of population on the 1516 physical environment of the British Isles; what is their policy regarding distribution of population between urban and rural areas, and its density in each area; and what steps Her Majesty's Government will take to ensure that new urban development will conform to adequate aesthetic and functional standards.
§ The Prime MinisterThese matters are dealt with in the regional studies for the various areas of the country. The specific question of urban development has, of course, recently been debated.
§ Mr. LongdenWill my right hon. Friend agree that, as we have been privileged to inherit one of the most beautiful islands in the world, we must, as trustees for posterity, try rather harder than we seem to be not to convert that inheritance into a legacy of ugliness? In view of the inevitable enormous increase in population and the hundreds of millions of £s which will have to be spent on towns and roads, would it not be a good thing to set up some kind of central council under a Cabinet Minister charged with the overall responsibility for our physical environment?
§ The Prime MinisterWe must certainly try to do better than we have in the past—[HON. MEMBERS: "Hear, hear."]—to do better than all Governments and all parties have done in the past to achieve a better balance between country and town. If my hon. Friend would like to pursue this matter, I think that it would, perhaps, be better to do so after the plans for the south-east of England have been issued on 19th March.
§ Mr. WoodburnWill the right hon. Gentleman consult the Report of the Royal Commission on the Distribution of the Industrial Population published in 1940, which surveyed the whole of this problem and made recommendations but to which, with the exception of what was done under the Labour Government, nobody seems to have paid any attention?
§ The Prime MinisterIn all the recent plans we have had for development, we have taken this very seriously into account.
The Earl of DalkeithWill my right hon. Friend give every encouragement he can to forestry as one of the best means 1517 of providing worth-while employment in rural areas and thereby halting the drift of population from the countryside to our already overcrowded towns?
§ The Prime MinisterYes, Sir. I have very great sympathy with this. When I was in Scotland, as Minister of State, I did a great deal in the matter myself.