HC Deb 29 April 1988 vol 132 cc310-1W
Mr. Michael McNair-Wilson

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence under what powers RAF Greenham Common was acquired and has been developed by his Department.

Mr. Freeman

RAF Greenham Common was first developed as a wartime airbase in 1941 on parts of Greenham and Crookham commons under the provisions of the Defence Regulations conferred by the Emergency Powers Act 1939. The then Secretary of State for Air acquired the freehold of Crookham common in 1955 and Greenham common in 1960.

The wartime Defence Regulations remained in force until 31 December 1958. Subsequent building work at RAF Greenham Common was then subject to the provisions of the Law of Property Act 1925, which lay down that consents are required from the Secretary of State for the Environment, over and above normal planning consultation, before building on land subject to rights of common. The rights of common at Greenham and Crookham commons are specific to a limited number of property owners and include rights to graze livestock and take gravel.

Although the normal planning procedures applying to Crown Land have been scrupulously observed, no consents under the Law of Property Act 1925 from the Secretary of State for the Environment have been sought by the Ministry of Defence since the lapse of the wartime Defence Regulations. Consequently, doubts about the legal position have been raised.

Additional facilities at RAF Greenham Common will be needed in connection with the inspection arrangements under the agreed verification regime once the INF treaty is ratified. Steps therefore need to be taken to remove a legal obstacle to further construction which could impede this and other work.

It has therefore been decided that the appropriate course would be to negotiate fair compensation for the legal extinction of the commoners' rights which we propose to pursue under the provisions of the Defence Act 1854.

This matter is legally quite distinct from the question of the legality of the byelaws at RAF Greenham Common which has arisen as a result of the recent decision by the Reading Crown court, and has been raised in the House on 26 April 1988 at columns 190–91.