§ 1. Commander Keransasked the Secretary of State for Industry, Trade and Regional Development, how much land remains available to his Department for industrial development; and how much was rented to industry in 1963 in the Hartlepools.
§ The Secretary of State for Industry, Trade and Regional Development and President of the Board of Trade (Mr. Edward Heath)There are 33 acres of land available for development at the Hartlepools on the Board of Trade's industrial estate. No Board of Trade land was separately rented to industry in 1963, but Government advance factories totalling 94,000 sq. ft. on land owned or acquired by the Board of Trade were approved for rent during the year.
§ Commander KeransI am grateful to my right hon. Friend for that reply. Will he ensure that some of the land left vacant by the rundown of Gray's Engineering Works and Shipping, part of which is owned by British Railways, is rapidly made available for industry in the not-too-distant future?
§ Mr. HeathAs my reply shows, we have good land already available for industrial sites there. Our main purpose must be to persuade industrialists to go to this area of development.
§ 2. Commander Keransasked the Secretary of State for Industry, Trade and Regional Development whether he intends to build a further advance factory in the Hartlepools in 1964.
§ Mr. HeathI am considering what further advance factories may be required, and I have the claims of the Hartlepools in mind.
§ Commander KeransIs my right hon. Friend aware that I am grateful for the advance factory now being leased to Messrs. Reed and Company? Will he ensure that a decision is taken at an early date on the building of a new factory? Is it not the case that, if there is an advance factory in the pipeline all the time, this acts as an incentive to get industry to an area?
§ Mr. HeathI very much agree with what my hon. and gallant Friend has just said and I will certainly endeavour to obtain a speedy decision.
§ Dame Irene WardWill my right hon. Friend bear in mind the first-class Report of the North-East Development Council and its Director at the quarterly meeting, showing that tremendous progress is being made? Do they also not agree that we should immediately replace a let advance factory by another?
§ Mr. HeathI agree that progress in the North-East is immensely encouraging. There is much in what my hon. Friend says but, at the same time, I have to look at the country as a whole from the point of view of the progress of advance factories.
§ Mr. ShinwellIs not the right hon. Gentleman aware that, in the Report, the Director and others expressed their dissatisfaction that not enough has been done? There has been some progress but a great deal more requires to be done and the Government appear to be dragging their feet.
§ Dame Irene WardYou were not at the meeting.
§ Mr. HeathThe last thing that can be said about the Government is that they are dragging their feet. The programme outlined in the White Paper allows for sustained progress.