§ LORD SILKINMy 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 whether their attention has been drawn to developments in the neighbourhood of Loch Lomond which are regarded as detrimental to the beauty and amenities of this lovely area and destructive of its character; and whether, with a view to the preservation of what remains of such beauty and amenity, they will extend to Scotland the relevant and appropriate provisions of the National Parks and Access to the Countryside Act, 1949.]
§ THE MINISTER WITHOUT PORTFOLIO (THE EARL OF DUNDEE)My Lords, the attention of my right honourable friend the Secretary of State for Scotland has recently been drawn to certain developments said to be of this 875 character, and he is having inquiries made. There is, however, no reason to fear that the preservation of rural amenity and natural beauty may be prejudiced because of the fact that certain provisions of the Act to which the noble Lord refers do not apply to Scotland. Loch Lomond lies in one of five largely undeveloped areas in Scotland, extending to 2,000 square miles in all, in which the preservation of rural amenity and natural beauty is considered to be of special importance; and all applications for planning permission for developments in these areas are reported by the local planning authorities for scrutiny by my right honourable friend's advisers, so that, if necessary, they may be referred to him for decision.
§ LORD SILKINMy Lords, does that mean that, in the case of these undesirable developments, the noble Earl's right honourable friend has permitted them?
§ THE EARL OF DUNDEENo. It means that in the areas to which I have referred they are automatically sent up to my right honourable friend for scrutiny, in spite of the fact that the National Parks Act does not apply to Scotland.
§ LORD SILKINBut the point is that there have been some undesirable developments—at least that is the allegation. If, in fact, they have been scrutinised by the Secretary of State and permitted, it would look as if this scrutiny is not very satisfactory.
§ THE EARL OF DUNDEEMy Lords, the noble Lord has not specified the developments to which he refers. But if he is referring to the proposal to undertake a major development in the neighbourhood of Finnich Toll, as I imagine he probably is, I can tell him that objections have been raised and are now being considered by my right honourable friend. So far, no decision has been made.
§ LORD SILKINMy Lords, would the noble Earl ask his right honourable friend whether he would receive representations from people in Scotland who are interested in this matter?
§ THE EARL OF DUNDEEMy Lords, my right honourable friend has received a large number of such representations and they are now under consideration. He is considering whether or not to give planning permission in the light of the objections which he has already received.
VISCOUNT ELIBANKMy Lords, is it the case that all these development schemes under the North of Scotland Hydro-Electric Board, to which no doubt this Question refers, are referred by the Secretary of State to the Scottish Amenities Committee which considers them and, generally speaking, is looking after the amenity interests of Scotland in an admirable fashion?