§ 25. Mr. Brockwayasked the Minister of Housing and Local Government and Minister for Welsh Affairs what action he is considering to prevent profiteering in the prices of land in the neighbourhood of the newly-opened Slough section of M.4, in view of the effect this is having on housing and other development costs.
§ Mr. CorfieldI have no evidence of any abnormal rise in land prices in this area.
§ Mr. BrockwayIs the Parliamentary Secretary aware that the prices of land along the roads which the community is providing are rising and are having a devastating effect on housing costs? The people of Slough are very much concerned, because, in the case of the nearby Maidenhead area by-pass, a five-acre site for building houses has just been sold for £56,000.
§ Mr. ManuelAnd the hon. Gentleman does not know it!
§ Mr. BrockwayWill the hon. Gentleman do something to stop this profiteering?
§ Mr. CorfieldThe general view expressed at inquiries into these matters is that motorways have a depressing effect on the price of land rather than the reverse. All that my right hon. Friend can do is to try to ensure that there is adequate land for development available in relation to the demand, and this he is doing.
§ Mr. MacCollIs not this a clear example of the powerlessness of the Government under present legislation to cope in any way with the reaping of betterment by people who have done nothing at all in the development of these areas, and does it not show the need to introduce legislation immediately to cope with this problem?
§ Mr. CorfieldAs I understand the proposals of the party opposite, they merely entail a form of taxation, which has never yet reduced the price of anything.