HC Deb 11 March 1981 vol 1000 c868
5. Mr. Harry Ewing

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland why he decided not to include the industrial site at Bothkennar, Falkirk in the list of preferred sites in Scotland for the possible location of the proposed Nissan- Datsun plant.

The Secretary of State for Scotland (Mr. George Younger)

Bothkennar does not meet fully the criteria laid down by the company, particularly in respect of stability of the site.

Mr. Ewing

Is the Secretary of State aware that I and everyone else in the Central region will find that answer astonishing? Some of us have the documents that were submitted to the Scottish Economic Planning Department by the company, and, contrary to what the Secretary of State said, Bothkennar meets every one of the 12 criteria laid down by the company. The site stability criterion was added by his Department. Will the right hon. Gentleman reconsider his answer? Will he confirm that his list of preferred sites was issued without his knowledge, bearing in mind that his junior Minister was sending letters to various hon. Members saying that their sites would be considered as well? Will he confirm that that list was issued without his knowledge, and will he include Bothkennar on that list?

Mr. Younger

Doubts about the stability of the site at Bothkennar have been raised ever since the early 1970s. There have been detailed investigations by the Institute of Geological Sciences, and a number of reports have been prepared by the IGS engineering geology unit. All of these reports indicated instability from earlier mine workings. The Nissan company has been quite specific that a suggested site must permit installation of plant and press equipment without requiring extensive piling. I can therefore confirm that a wide range of sites in Scotland were considered. A meeting was held with interested parties to decide how the various sites met the criteria, and we had eventually to choose the most likely.

Several Hon. Members rose—

Mr. Speaker

Order. This is a constituency matter. We must move on.

Mr. Ewing

On a point of order, Mr. Speaker. In view of the unsatisfactory nature of that reply, I beg to give notice that I shall seek to raise the matter on the Adjournment.