§ 105. Mr. Bossomasked the Secretary of State for War the situation as regards the present and future use of Dartmoor as far as the Army is concerned.
112. Mrs. Manningasked the Secretary of State for War if it is the purpose of his Department to use any part of Dartmoor as a permanent enclosed military area.
§ Mr. BellengerIt will be appreciated that part of Dartmoor near Okehampton was used for many years before the war as an Artillery Range. There is a proposal to use part of the Dartmoor area as a future training area from which the public would have to be excluded for reasons of safety. The acreage involved in the proposal is at present being considered by the Interdepartmental Committee under the auspices of the Minister of Town and Country Planning and until the conclusions of this committee have been reported to Ministers, I am unable to make a statement about future use of the area. Meanwhile the clearance of "blinds" from areas not in use is in hand, as far as the shortage of trained manpower permits.
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§ 115. Brigadier Petoasked the Secretary of State for War to what extent land within the boundary of Dartmoor was requisitioned during the war; what area has since been derequisitioned; and what area it is proposed to retain under requisition for peace-time military training.
§ Mr. BellengerWithin the approximate area of the moor, between 20,000 and 30,000 acres were requisitioned during the war. In addition 22,145 acres continued to be held on a pre-war lease and 27,600 acres were used under Defence Regulation 52. The 27,600 acres used under Defence Regulation 52 have been relinquished. With regard to the last part of the Question I would refer the hon. and gallant Member to a reply I gave to the hon. Members for Maidstone (Mr. Bossom) and Epping (Mrs. Manning) today.