§ Mr. Llewellyn9, 10 and 11. asked the Minister of Agriculture (1) why the Forestry Commission in Wales is permitted to acquire more land in Cardigan-shire and elsewhere, whilst 38,000 acres already owned by it are not planted; and whether he is satisfied that more marginal land should be acquired for afforestation whilst so much land owned by the Forestry Commission is wholly unproductive;
(2) what programme of planting is planned for the 38,000 acres owned by the Forestry Commission in Wales which are not planted; in which years were these acres acquired; and whether he is aware that rural Wales is disturbed by the action of the Forestry Commission in acquiring more land in Cardiganshire and elsewhere whilst so much of the land already owned by the Forestry Commission is wholly unproductive;
(3) the location of the 38,000 acres owned by the Forestry Commission in Wales which are not planted; and the 9,000 acres owned by the Commission and considered by it to be unplantable.
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§ Sir T. DugdaleThe Forestry Commission's planting programme for Wales is at present some 12,000 acres a year. A substantial reserve of unplanted land is required to maintain an orderly forestry programme of this magnitude. The reserve has already been reduced to three times the annual rate of planting, compared with a figure of 10 times considered necessary before the war. The land is not, however, unproductive since a large part of it is let for temporary grazing. The reserve is distributed in relatively small blocks scattered throughout Wales and the 9,000 acres of unplantable land is intermingled with it. Full details of the location and the date of acquisition of these hundreds of small areas cannot be given without very extensive research, but I will write to my hon. Friend at an early date.