§ Mr. Keelingasked the Parliamentary Secretary to the Ministry of Works and Planning how soon he expects that existing motor car dumps will be cleared; and whether he will take power to prevent the 1643W disfigurement of the countryside by prohibiting further dumps except under licence?
§ Mr. HicksThere are over 1,300 car breakers' yards in the country of which only about half are at present in operation. The estimated amount of metal remaining for disposal in these yards is about 25,000 tons. The average despatch per week from car breakers' yards to the scrap metal merchants is roughly 1,000 tons. Old cars have also been used by the Service Departments for defence purposes and in addition certain cars owned by the Government and used on Civil Defence work have now become available for disposal as scrap. My Ministry is in active touch with the Departments concerned and it is anticipated that a further 12–25,000 cars will become available from these sources. Power to prohibit or restrict the use of land for a purpose seriously detrimental to the neighbourhood is already conferred by the Town and Country Planning Act, 1932, and the question of further safeguards will be considered in connection with future legislation. In present conditions, however, I do not think any further action is called for.