Brigadier-General BROWNasked the Minister of Agriculture, how many acres of agricultural land were taken over in 1934 and in 1935 by the Secretary of State for Air, by the Minister of Transport, by the Minister of Health, by the War Office, and by the Forestry Commissioners for purposes other than agriculture; and 1848W what is the acreage of agricultural land annually lost to agriculture by being absorbed for other national purposes?
§ Mr. W. S. MORRISONAs regards the first part of the question, the following information has been supplied by the Departments concerned.
Air Ministry.—Approximately 4,000 acres were acquired during the financial year 1934 and approximately 9,000 acres in 1935, making a total of 13,000 acres, of which approximately 8,000 acres (site of landing grounds, etc.) remain in grass. A further 700 acres is let off for purely agricultural purposes.
War Office.—1,352.5 acres of agricultural land were acquired in 1934, of which 43.75 acres were absorbed for purposes other than agriculture. The comparable figures for 1935 were 1,500.75 acres and 42.75 acres, respectively.
Forestry Commission.—No land in cultivation was taken over in 1934 or 1935 for purposes other than agriculture, except land for nurseries, of which 94 acres were taken over in 1935.
Ministry of Transport and Ministry of Health.—None. Land for road and housing schemes is acquired by or on behalf of the local authorities concerned and the Departments have no information as to how much agricultural land was acquired by the authorities for these purposes.
As regards the second part of the question, the agricultural returns collected by my Department show that in the last five years there has been an average net reduction of 59,900 acres per annum in the total area of land used for agriculture in England and Wales. The information collected does not, however, enable me to say to what alternative uses the land has been put.