HC Deb 11 February 1997 vol 290 cc134-5
13. Mr. Hall

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence when the private storage and distribution activities at RAF Burtonwood will cease. [13727]

Mr. Soames

The disposal of the site at Burtonwood is now in progress and awaits the resolution of the planning situation.

Mr. Hall

That does not answer my question about storage and distribution at RAF Burtonwood. Given the Minister's refusal to bring that activity to an end, may I remind him that the north-west traffic commissioner has stated on two occasions that RAF Burtonwood is totally unsuitable for storage and distribution purposes. As the previous Minister, the right hon. Member for Kettering (Mr. Freeman), promised in the House two years ago that there would be no intensification of such use of RAF Burtonwood, can the Minister tell the House why the Ministry of Defence has acquiesced in a further application for a vehicle distribution licence for PDS International Ltd., as was reported in the press this weekend?

Mr. Soames

I am not sure that the hon. Gentleman has a perfect grasp of the situation. RAF Burtonwood is let for warehousing and distribution. Any request for a tenant to use it as an operating centre would require my Department's approval. No requests have been approved, and would not be agreed without prior consultation with the traffic commissioners, in line with guidance given in the Department of Transport publication entitled "Goods vehicle operating licences: a guide to operators".