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at the present precarious juncture to assure the agricultural industry of our full support for their efforts than an announcement that the Government have decided that no opencast mining will be undertaken on first-class agricultural land.
6.
Finally I would like to stress one consideration to which the Minister refers in his paper and which we must take seriously into account. If the decision were to go against agriculture in East Lothian, the resultant public outcry against the surrender, as it will be represented, of agricultural interests, would undoubtedly make it much more difficult to get opencast sites in other parts of the country where the agricultural case would be less strong.
7.
in this paper.
The Minister of Agriculture endorses the views expressed
Scottish Office, S. W.1.,
JUNE 17, 1952.
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1
J.S.
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THE ΟΙ
215
(THIS DOCUMENT,5 PROPERTY OF HER BRITANNIC MATY'S SPYERNMENT)
CONFIDENTIAL
C. (52) 199
JUNE 17, 1952
CABINET OFFICE RECORD COPY
COPY NO.
CABINET
BUILDING LICENSING LIMITS:
REVIEW OF
THE CONTROL OF BUILDING OPERATIONS ORDER
Memorandum by the Minister of Works
On instructions from the Prime Minister I draw my colleagues' attention to my memorandum B. (52) 24 recommending changes in the building licensing limits. My proposals were:-
2.
(1) To change the licensing period to a calendar year.
(2) For the eighteen months ending December, 1953, to fix the free limits
as follows:-
(a) industrial and agricultural buildings: £1,000, of which not more than £500 to be carried out in July/December, 1952.
(b) housing and other building wok: £500, of which not more than
£100 to be carried out in July/December, 1952.
(3) To discuss with the Local Authority Associations the question of winding
up their agency work other than on new housing.
The Building Committee at its meeting on 26th May felt that these proposals might divert labour and materials from new construction and create a bad impression when we are cutting down in other directions, I was invited
to reconsider the proposals and to submit them to the Economic Policy Committee.
3.
In submitting my proposals to the Economic Policy Committee (E.A.(52) 73), I saw no reason to change my view that the increased freedom which I recommended would give a fillip to the building industry and would not adversely affect the Housing Programme.
4.
The Economic Policy Committee felt that it would be wiser to defer for a short time any substantial increase in the licensing limits. I was invited to consider three possible alternatives and submit them to the Building Committee.
5.
These alternatives were:-
(a) that the present free limits of £500 for industrial and agricultural
(i. e. designated) buildings and £100 for all other work done on private account should be continued for a further twelve months. But when the decision was made public I should state the Government's intention to review the position before the end of the year, and our policy of operating the licensing system in the meantime in accordance with local needs.