§ 53. Mr. Osborneasked the Minister of Agriculture if he will take steps to prevent the wholesale destruction of trees by felling on the Usselby estate which are mainly hedgerow trees, since they give protection from snowdrifts on the A46 road from 289W Market Rasen to Grimsby, and local farmers fear erosion of this light soil if left unprotected.
Mr. T. WilliamsI am advised that the felling of the timber on the Usselby estate is not likely to lead to erosion or to increase the danger of snowdrifts. Plantations and hedges will continue to give wind protection to the neighbouring farm land. In the circumstances I have no case for objecting to the felling of the trees on agricultural grounds; nor have I in fact any power to prevent it.