§ 11. Mr. Geoffrey Cooperasked the President of the Board of Trade what is the area of land now being used in development areas and other parts of Great Britain for factory estates which have been developed during the war, and are now being developed, respectively; and what is the estimated area of proposed factory estates not yet commenced.
Mr. H. WilsonApproximately 5,000 acres of land in the development areas have been, or are being, developed with Government finance, as industrial estates (as distinct from individual sites and small group sites). Of this area, about 2,000 acres,were developed during the war as Royal Ordnance Factories and subsequently taken over by the Board of Trade for development as industrial estates, and another 1,600 acres have been developed wholly since the war. Further land will be acquired as needs arise, there being at present about 500 acres either acquired or under consideration for development. The further information requested by my hon. Friend is not readily available, but I will write to him as soon as it has been collected.