§ 5.31 p.m.
§ LORD LUCAS OF CHILWORTHMy Lords, I beg to ask the Question which stands in my name on the Order Paper.
§ [The Question was as follows:
§ To ask Her Majesty's Government what action they propose to take following the receipt of a petition of protest from inhabitants of the village of Shippon, near Abingdon, Berkshire, against the noise from aircraft using the R.A.F. Station, Abingdon, including the "deafening roar" and "the dense waves of fumes" that are "belched forth" from the four engined aircraft which use, for the purpose of "hotting up" and "testing", a parking ground which has been recently built for this purpose one hundred yards from the built-up area of the village.]
§ THE PARLIAMENTARY SECRETARY, MINISTRY OF DEFENCE (LORD MANCROFT)My Lords, the siting of these hard standings at the R.A.F. Station at Abingdon was dictated by operational and technical considerations and by the need to avoid demands on further agricultural land on the west side of the airfield. They could not, therefore, have been placed elsewhere on the airfield, as the petitioners have suggested. My right honourable friend is anxious, however, that disturbance to the nearby village should be reduced as far as possible, and has given instructions that engines shall not be tested under full power in this parking area.
§ LORD LUCAS OF CHILWORTHMy Lords, as it becomes increasingly apparent that this aerodrome is ill-sited and ill-suited for the purpose of an aerodrome, I would ask the noble Lord whether he would convey to his right honourable friend the Minister of Defence the suggestion that, in the interest of national economy, as well as in the 1124 interests of peace for the 30,000-odd people who live within 6,000 yards of this station, he should consider abandoning this aerodrome as a flying station and allocate it to the new nuclear research institute, a purpose for which it is admirably suited owing to its close proximity to Harwell and the University of Oxford?
§ LORD MANCROFTMy Lords, I am afraid I cannot wholly agree with the noble Lord in his strictures as to the suitability of this airfield, although, as he knows, the Government are most sympathetic to the views of the neighbours of the airfield and are sorry for the inconvenience to which they have been put. Indeed, my right honourable friend the Secretary of State for Air visited the airfield as recently as Friday last to see for himself what could be done to mitigate still further the hardships to which the neighbours are undoubtedly being subjected. I will refer to my right honourable friend the point made by the noble Lord, but I am afraid I can hold out no hope whatever that he will agree to the proposal. A great deal of money has already been spent on this airfield, and I am afraid there is no possibility of its being taken up for the purpose for which the noble Lord suggests.
§ LORD LUCAS OF CHILWORTHMy Lords, does the noble Lord think it fair to prejudice the case by anticipating what his right honourable friend may say? Surely, the decision should be that of the Minister of Defence, and not for the noble Lord in anticipation of it.
§ LORD MANCROFTMy Lords, of course, the decision does not rest with me, but I think I am duty bound to warn the noble Lord that it is most unlikely that either of my right honourable friends will agree to the suggestion he has put forward. I do not want to prejudice their decision, but only to damp down the noble Lord's optimism well in advance.
§ LORD LUCAS OF CHILWORTHMy Lords, I can assure the noble Lord, quite frankly, that I am never optimistic about any question I might ask where the Air Force is concerned and where the peace and quiet of the civil population are involved.