§ 37. Mr. John Wellsasked the Minister of Transport what is her policy on the disposal of land of nationalised transport undertaking which is no longer in use.
§ Mr. John MorrisIt is for each undertaking to decide whether its land should 1501 be disposed of. Its disposal procedure has been agreed with the Government and is similar to that followed by Government Departments. Land is normally offered to the local authorities in whose area it is situated. If the local authorities express no interest, the nationalised industry is free to dispose of the land as it thinks fit.
§ Mr. WellsWhile recognising the general wisdom of offering disused land to local authorities, may I ask the Minister to look again at the offer of land, formerly railway property, where it bisects a farm or farms, and the adjacent farmer wants the land for his own purposes and for through traffic of a farming nature, because it is frequently most inconvenient for a farmer to have a local authority halfheartedly wanting to have a footpath, on which vermin breed and weeds grow, whereas the farmer wants to maintain the land for farming purposes?
§ Mr. MorrisThe general basis of the policy is to ensure that land is put to the most advantageous use in the public interest as a whole. If the hon. Member has any particular case in mind, I am sure that he could raise it with the Railways Board.