§ The Marquess of Salisburyasked Her Majesty's Government:
Whether they have read the register of historic gardens compiled by the Historic Buildings and Monuments Commission for England and whether this is intended to lead to the imposition of new statutory controls on such gardens.
§ The Parliamentary Under-Secrtary of State, Department of the Environment (The Earl of Avon)My right honourable friend the Secretary of State for the Environment has received copies of the first 10 sections of the register of parks and gardens of special historic interest which were published by the Historic Buildings and Monuments Commission for England in December. These first volumes demonstrate admirably the purely informative nature of the register, which has no statutory force. I can confirm that the Government have no intention of extending 1057WA the statutory provisions for the listing of buildings to include gardens appearing in the register or otherwise identified as of special interest.