§ Mr. Corbettasked the Secretary of State for the Environment (1) for what purpose on which date and for what price his Department purchased Dale Head Farm and Turncliffe Farm, Quarnford, near Buxton, Derbyshire;
(2) what is the size of Dale Head Farm and Turncliffe Farm, Quarnford, near Buxton, Derbyshire; what was their principal use prior to purchase by his Department; and what farming policy is currently being carried out and is planned.
§ Mr. ArmstrongDale Head and Turncliffe Farms, which adjoin the Safety in Mines Research Establishment, were acquired following allegations that experiments in the Establishment's Coal Dust Explosion Gallery had damaged farm buildings. The farms were purchased so that the experiments could be carried out without risk to private property.
403WDale Head Farm—80 acres—was purchased on 23rd March 1973 and Turncliffe Farm—300 acres—on 16th January 1975. It is not the Department's practice to disclose the purchase price in commercial transactions.
Both farms are now leased to the former owner of Turncliffe Farm, who has continued to use them for grazing.