TOWYN TREWAN COMMON BILL (Hansard, 24 January 1963)

§ THE FIRST LORD OF THE ADMIRALTY (LORD CARRINGTON)
My Lords, I beg to move that this Bill be now read a second time. It is a comparatively simple Bill and, I think, a non-controversial one dealing with the extension of an R.A.F. airfield. The airfield in question is at Valley, in Anglesey. In conjunction with the Cardigan Bay Range, it is the R.A.F.'s main base for training pilots in the use of air-to-air guided weapons. It is also the base of an advanced flying training school. The Lightning aircraft, now coming into service with the R.A.F., is equipped with the Firestreak air-to-air weapon. All the necessary facilities for training in the use of this weapon already exist at Valley, but the main runway there must be extended before it can be used in complete safety by the Lightning aircraft.
The present airfield was constructed during the 1939–45 war mainly on common land which was regulated by the Towyn Trewan Common Act 1908. At the time of the airfield's construction this land was under requisition. After the war, the Air Ministry decided to retain the airfield on a long-term basis and common and public rights over that part of the Common which had been enclosed were extinguished by the Towyn Trewan Common Act, 1950. The runway extension now required involves partly land over which common and public rights were extinguished in 1950 and partly land which is still subject to these rights. This Bill is consequently necessary to enable the runway extension to be completed.
In preparing to extinguish these rights, the Air Ministry have consulted the Anglesey County Council—who are the local planning authority—the Conservators of the Common, the. Nature Conservancy, and the various amenity bodies who have an interest in the area, including the Common's Preservation Society. None of these bodies has raised any objection to the principle of the Bill, and the Air Ministry have been able to meet the points of detail which some of them have raised. In fact, the Air 151 Ministry have received much co-operation and assistance in this matter, particularly from the Conservators of the Common and the Anglesey County Council, and this they have greatly appreciated.
As I say, the Bill is comparatively simple, its main purpose is to extinguish rights of common and other rights over approximately 55 acres of land which are required for the runway extension and associated works and to provide for the payment of compensation in respect of this. These are the purposes of Clauses 1, 3 and 4 of the Bill. It will be necessary to carry storm water drainage from the land away to the nearest convenient outfall. This will be done by constructing a drain to an outfall in the nearby River Crigyll. Although the drain will cross what will still be common land, it will be covered over after construction and will not interfere with the general enjoyment of the Common. It is not, therefore, necessary to extinguish any rights over the line of the drain. Provision has been made, however, in Clause 2 of the Bill for temporary interference with the exercise of rights during the construction and subsequent maintenance of the drain, and the matter of compensation on this account also is covered in Clause 3.
The Air Ministry know of no private rights of way over the land to be enclosed for the runway extension. But against the possibility that some may in fact exist, Clause 4 provides for their extinguishment and for further compensation for any consequent loss or damage if this is claimed within a year of the extinguishment. The land which needs to be enclosed for the runway extension extends to the River Crigyll on the southern boundary of the Common. As a result, without express provision in the Bill, there would be no access between the remaining parts of the Common to the East and the West of the extended runway. Clause 5 covers the use of a track which will provide such access. This clause also preserves a right of passage for the Gwynedd River Board to enable the Board to carry out its duties in relation to the River Crigyll.
As at other modern airfields, subsidiary works outside the airfield boun- 152 dary are necessary; for example, navigational and landing aids, lines and drains. Similar minor additions may be required in the future. Such installations do not interfere with the general enjoyment of the Common and do not, therefore, justify the extinguishment of common and other rights, but legal provision for such additional works is essential. This is the purpose of Clause 6, which extends the powers of the Conservators to permit such works (within the definitions given), to receive financial consideration in respect of them, and to apply any such monies to the improvement and protection of other parts of the Common.
The Air Ministry naturally regret having to make even this small encroachment on the Common. I can assure your Lordships, however, that the proposals in this Bill limit this encroachment to the minimum that is unavoidable if this airfield, which plays a significant part in the economy of the Island of Anglesey, is to continue to make a useful contribution to our national defence. I beg to move.

§ LORD OGMORE
My Lords, I should like to support this measure. I know the Valley Airfield and I fully realise how important it is to the defence of this country, but as this proposal affects the rights of the neighbouring people and means the extinguishment of certain rights over land and various other matters about which the noble Lord has spoken, it seems to me that perhaps the Royal Air Force and the Government might be able to make a contribution to Wales in return. It so happens that Wales, in common with much of Scotland, the North of England, the West of England and some parts of the Midlands, is becoming more and more affected by the lack of communications, and this process is being continued by the policy of Dr. Beeching, under the instructions of the Government, to close down a large number of railway lines. This is imposing great hardship upon the people of Wales and will do so more and more. I was given only yesterday an indication of what it means when I heard of the time it took to get a patient from 153 Llandrindod Wells to a place not very far away where the main hospital is—that is, Aberystwyth—owing to the fact that the railways have been discontinued in this part of the world. It is becoming an ever more serious matter for us in Wales.
Valley, in Anglesey, at one time was used to a large extent by civil aircraft. The Royal Air Force used to extend their hospitality to civil aircraft which wanted to use the airfield. There is no other airport—no civil airport in North Wales; no civil airport in mid-Wales, and only two in South Wales. I would ask the noble Lord, the First Lord of the Admiralty, therefore, in view of the serious situation over the rail closures and the lack of road communications in much of Wales, whether the Royal Air Force would enable civil aircraft to use Valley Airfield in future in all circumstances in which they require to do so. I assure him that Cambrian Airways and the other airways will soon afford the only possibility of getting from one part of Wales to another in comfort and with a reasonable amount of speed. Unless we have this sort of facility I think we in Wales are going back a couple of hundred years so far as communications are concerned; in fact, it is worse in some ways, because in those days it was not necessary to go the distances that it is very often to-day. So perhaps the noble Lord would look at this in a sympathetic manner and try to do the best he can.

§ LORD CHORLEY
My Lords, may I say a short word about this Bill, which, as the noble Lord very properly pointed out, involves a certain amount of interference with rights in the form of amenities in Anglesey? This is very unfortunate, but those of us who have been looking at the matter feel that the efficiency of this airfield requires this extension arid that the Department have done all they possibly can to mitigate the injury which will follow; and they have, in fact, given assurances in another place which have gone a good way towards meeting the point of view of the interests for which I am speaking. In all the circumstances, we feel that this matter must go through. We are grateful to the noble Lord and those who have worked with him for going as far as they have done in order to meet our case.

§ LORD BOSTON
My Lords, while I have no comment to make on this Bill, which appears to have been agreed to by all concerned, I should like to ask the noble Lord who replies for the Government whether there has been any difficulty with the commoners over their rights or compensation. In another place the small sum of £1,500 was mentioned as being for partition between 200 commoners. Would the noble Lord be good enough to inform the House whether he has any information regarding these negotiations?

§ LORD CARRINGTON
My Lords, I am most grateful to noble Lords for the reception that they have given to this small Bill, and particularly to the noble Lord, Lord Chorley, for what he has said, because I think all your Lordships know the interest which he takes in the amenity societies of England and Wales; and if he says that he thinks that the Government Department concerned has done what it can to mitigate the inconvenience caused by any such Bill I think your Lordships will agree that it must have done so, because he is a good watchdog for the societies.
With regard to what the noble Lord, Lord Ogmore, has said, I quite agree with him about the importance of these commons. I also agree with him that the Royal Air Force would dike to do everything they can to help the people of Wales and to put this airfield at the disposal of civil transport, if it were possible to do so; but I am afraid that in this case it is not possible to do so. I am told that it would be most dangerous to both sides to mix regular civilian air services with jet pilot training, and it is not a thing which the Royal Air Force could possibly permit. Not only that, but it would greatly interfere with the training on this airfield, and there are not very many good training airfields in the United Kingdom. So I am afraid that we could not allow any regular services to be run from this airfield, though of course it will continue to be used, as it always has been in the past, in case of emergency.
As to what my noble friend Lord Boston has said, I believe that the amount of compensation has still to be agreed between the Air Ministry surveyor and the surveyor appointed by the commoners. They have not yet been able 155 to meet because the weather has been so bad; but they will do so as soon as possible, and I have no reason to suppose that there will be any difficulty in reaching agreement.