§ 31. Mr. Beswickasked the Minister of Housing and Local Government, in view of the uncertainty, inconvenience and hardship occasioned by the continued delay in making a decision with regard to the Middlesex County Development Plan, if he will expedite his consideration of this matter.
§ Mr. SandysYes, Sir, as much as possible.
§ Mr. BeswickIs the Minister aware that his predecessor promised me 12 months ago that a decision would be given in the second half of this year, and that this promise appears to stand very little chance of being fulfilled? Will he not do something a little extra in this matter?
§ Mr. SandysI will try to do a lot extra, if I can, but a great deal of work is involved in this plan, which affects 2¼ million people. There were 7,500 objections to it, all of which had to be very carefully considered. We will expedite it as much as possible, but I am afraid that it will still take several months.