§ Mr. Morganasked the Secretary of State for the Home Department, in view of the fact that there has been deterioration in the standard of television reception in the area of Pentrednor, Llanyllen, 245W Clwyd, following the erection of a new television mast in the locality, what steps he proposes to take to improve television reception in the area.
Mr. BrittonI understand that my hon. and learned Friend's question refers to Pentredwr, Llangollen.
The primary responsibility for extending the coverage of the UHF television services lies with the BBC and the IBA which are jointly engaged on an engineering programme to extend coverage to communities with permanent populations of 500 or more. This programme still has some years to run. The population of Pentredwr, which is regarded as nominally unserved by UHF television, is well below this figure.
Pentredwr lies outside the service area of the new UHF TV relay at Llangollen which opened in April, being shielded from reception by the surrounding terrain. But the presence of the new relay station should not have adversely affected the reception of neighbouring television transmitting stations within their service areas. New UHF television relay stations are very carefully planned to ensure that this does not happen. The BBC is, however, sending an engineer to the area to investigate the quality of reception and to give what advice he can.