COMMONS AMENDMENT (Hansard, 31 July 1962)

§ LORD CHESHAM

My Lords, Clause 7 provides that the construction of a pipe-line less than ten miles long as an addition to another pipe-line is to be regarded as the construction of a cross-country pipe-line and not a local one, if the combined length of the two exceeds ten miles. In the same way with the construction of a pipe-line under ten miles in length, to connect two, or possibly more, other pipe-lines is to be deemed to represent the construction of a cross-country pipe-line if the line and those it connects in all exceed ten miles. The purpose of the clause is to prevent anyone from evading the controls in 137 Clause 1 by constructing a series of pipelines under ten miles long and then joining them all together. But there are certain areas of the country in which there are particular industries which have extensive Local networks, and it might be rather unnecessary for each additional pipe-line or connection between the pipe-lines within such essentially local systems to be construed as a cross-country pipe-line and subject to the full procedure laid down in Clause 1.

I think that it is reasonable to provide for the possibility of exemption in these cases. The Amendment meets the point. It provides that the Minister may, by order, direct that the provisions of Clause 7 shall not apply to the construction of pipe-lines of a specified class lying Wholly within a specified area. It really deals with the point that was raised by my noble friends Lord Colville of Culross and Lord Merrivale in connection with the china clay industry, which has a small but complicated system of pipe-lines and where to make the cross-country application every time it was desired to add 20 yards of line would make a nonsense. I beg to move.