HC Deb 01 August 1961 vol 645 cc1129-30
28. Mr. J. Silverman

asked the Minister of Housing and Local Government arid Minister for Welsh Affairs whether he is aware of the purchase of land for housing purposes at Harborne by the Birmingham City Council at a cost of £15,000 for which he gave loan sanction; and what estimate he has made of the part of this cost which was due to the operations of the Town and Country Planning Act, 1954, and the Town arid Country Planning Act, 1959.

36. Mr. Denis Howell

asked the Minister of Housing and Local Government arid Minister for Welsh Affairs, whether he is aware of the purchase of land for housing purposes at Harborne by the Birmingham City Council; and what estimate he has made of the cost to public funds of this development.

Mr. Brooke

I presume that the land referred to is Metchley Grange. I have made no estimates of the kinds mentioned in the Questions.

Mr. Silverman

Does the Minister realise that the price of this land has risen several times in the past few years and that buying land like this is a serious burden on a local authority and a disincentive to its buying housing land? Whatever estimates the right hon. Gentleman may have made, what steps does he intend to take about the price of such land as this in areas of this kind?

Mr. Brooke

We debated the price of land over a whole day recently and I do not think that the hon. Gentleman took part in that debate. I am certainly aware that the prices paid by local authorities have gone up in this case, and elsewhere, but I think that the whole country rejects the old basis of compensation for compulsory purchase, which was below market value. Of course, if a local authority is developing an expensive site like this for housing purposes, it gets expensive site subsidy.

Mr. Howell

Is the right hon. Gentleman aware that this land has recently changed hands for £15,000 an acre and that only five years ago land immediately adjacent to it was sold at £450 an acre? Is not this a phenomenal increase brought about, in the main, by the vigorous activities of a progressive local authority in Birmingham; and is it right that community activity like this should result in vast profits going into private hands when they should go back to the public exchequer?

Mr. Brooke

I should have thought that the hon. Gentleman would have realised the fallacy of comparing purchase now on a market basis with a purchase undertaken under the old system whereby the local authority was enabled to acquire someone's land compulsorily and pay much less than the market value.

Mr. Cleaver

Is the Minister aware that the high price of land in the city is largely due to the fact that the Socialist Council owns hundreds of plots of land which it will not develop?

Mr. Stewart

Does not all this mean that some people are doing very nicely at the public expense and that the Chancellor's statement is not going to touch them at all?

Mr. Brooke

What the Chancellor's statement will do remains to be seen, but I really trust that we in this country shall be saved from the Socialist plan for land acquisition which, as I have pointed out, will lead either to no land coming on to the market at all or else even more widespread compulsory purchase.