§ 18. Mr. Benceasked the Minister of Land and Natural Resources what steps he is taking to restore to useful purposes land sterilised by past industrial spoliation.
§ Mr. WilleyI am, of course, concerned with the overall strategy of land use. I shall also contribute advice on techniques and the economic aspects of reclamation and in this I shall be assisted by the Natural Resources Advisory Committee.
§ Mr. BenceIs my right hon. Friend aware that in the industrial belt of Scotland, particularly in my constituency of Dunbartonshire, there are large areas of land which were spoilt in the 19th century by coal heaps? Now that many pits have closed and old industrial works have been scrapped because they are out of date, will my right hon. Friend do something to help local authorities and others to bring these areas into use?
§ Mr. WilleyI am very conscious of this dereliction and I am anxious that my Department should be able to give all the assistance it can in seeing that this problem is tackled very expeditiously.
§ Mr. George JegerIs my right hon. Friend aware of the very useful survey which was conducted and published about a year ago by the Civic Trust, and will he take that into account when he is considering action?
§ Mr. WilleyI am very much aware of it and I take this opportunity to say how obliged we are to the Civic Trust for the work it did.