TRAINING AREAS
sm,—It is common knowledge that many of the wildest and most beauti- ful parts of the English countryside are about to be despoiled and closed to the public on a scale far larger than ever before, chiefly for the purpose of military training. Examples of places threatened or already occupied are parts of Dartmoor, Purbeck, the Pembrokeshire coast, Coquetdale in Northumberland and areas close to Ullstvater and Coniston Water ; but there are many ethers. This represents a serious inroad on the public's opportunities for recreation. The need of the Services for large training-areas cannot be denied, but it is surely unjustifiable to retain in peace-time the 1842 Aot whereby the Services can seize land secretly and without control by Parliament. The Prime Minister's promise to permit a public enquiry in such cases is welcome but does not go nearly far enough. The enquiry would only take place after a Departmental decision had already been made, and in any event would lead to the problem being treated piecemeal. It is useless to fight each case separately ; for all we know, the liberation of part of Dartmoor, say, may merely result in fresh encroachments on the Lake District or elsewhere. The only reasonable course is to plan for the country as a whole. If some of our open spaces must be sacrificed, let us have a voice in deciding what can best be spared. For instance, there are parts of Central Wales and Eastern Scotland which could probably be taken with little objection from anyone.
Although the Minister of Town and Country Planning is sympathetic, his statutory powers are inadequate and he is not of Cabinet rank.. As Lord Cranborne has suggested, what is wanted is a Joint Select Committee of both Houses empowered to assess and integrate the needs of the three Services, and to weigh the resulting claims against those of the public interest. Further, it is essential that all the claims should be presented and considered together ; the Services should not keep asking for more. May I ask all of your readers who are interested in the countryside to exert any influence they possess to bring such a Com- mittee into being and to abrogate the provisions of the 1842 Act ?-
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