§ 4. Mr. Newensasked the Minister of Public Building and Works if he will undertake a review of the efforts and expenditure by his Department on the preservation of ancient windmills, especially postmills, in this country, with the aim of seeking to preserve more of them.
§ Mr. BoydenThe preservation of windmills must be tackled within the broader context of "industrial monuments" generally and not in isolation. We already have two windmills, one of which—Saxtead Green Mill—is a postmill, in our guardianship. We have made grants towards the repair and maintenance of five other windmills.
§ Mr. NewensIs my hon. Friend aware that many mills which in theory are the subject of preservation orders are being allowed to fall into decay for want of funds, with the result that many of these charming and historic monuments will disappear before anything can be done to save them unless urgent action is taken very early on? I could give many examples of this at another time.
§ Mr. BoydenThis is a constant problem with ancient monuments, and industrial monuments, too, for that matter. All cases which come to the attention of my Ministry are considered very carefully. If my hon. Friend knows of any special case in which decay is rapid and should be stopped, I hope that he will let me know of it.
§ Mr. LiptonIs it not up to the local authorities concerned to take the initiative in this matter? If my hon. Friend wants a good example of what an alert local authority can do, will he look at one of the last windmills left in London, on the top of Brixton Hill, which Lambeth Council has succeeded in preserving, and around which it has put a nice little garden?
§ Mr. BoydenI always thought that Lambeth was a good local authority and I am glad to hear of this example.
§ Mr. ShinwellDoes my hon. Friend find it easy to reconcile this request with the modernisation of this country?
§ Mr. BoydenAs I said earlier, that is a particular difficulty with industrial monuments.