§ 54. Sir D. Rentonasked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what steps he is taking to ensure that the best agricultural land is preserved for farming and that only poorer qualities of land are taken for development.
§ Mr. HoyThe Department is consulted by local planning authorities and by other Government Departments under agreed administrative arrangements on all but minor proposals to develop on agricultural land.
Before agreeing to the loss of good land my right hon. Friend wants to be satisfied that the development is essential and that there is no suitable alternative site on land of poorer quality. However, the agricultural value of the land is not the only factor to take into account when deciding where development is to go, and sometimes, when other considerations are over-riding, even very good agricultural land must be taken for development.
§ 55. Sir D. Rentonasked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food how many acres of farmland were taken for non-agricultural development of various kinds during the last period of 12 months 87W for which figures are available; and what acreage is likely to be taken during each of the next three years.
§ Mr. HoyFrom June, 1963, to June, 1964, the total area of land going out of agriculture in England and Wales was about 54,000 acres. About 46,000 acres of this was taken for urban development of various kinds. I cannot say exactly what the requirements will be for the next three years.