§ 8. Mr. Boyd-Carpenterasked the Minister of Housing and Local Government how much land has been made available for house building in the Greater London area by the Land Commission in the past year; how much is at present held by the Land Commission for that purpose; and how much he expects will be so made available in the coming year.
§ Mr. Denis HowellThe Commission at present holds 188 acres of land at Horn-church. A small part of this is at present on offer to a builder and the rest will he available for housing and ancillary development when gravel has been extracted from the land.
The needs of Greater London have to be considered in the context of a wider area. I understand that the Land Commission has in hand proposals to acquire a considerable acreage of land in the outer Metropolitan area.
§ Mr. Boyd-CarpenterDoes that answer mean that, to date, after two years of operation, the Land Commission has not found a single square foot of land to help housing in London? In these circumstances is it not time it was wound up?
§ Mr. HowellThe answer does not mean anything of the kind. In view of the proposals the Land Commission is considering in the outer Metropolitan area, which is where one must look for relief for inner Metropolitan pressures, I doubt whether the right hon. Gentleman will be asking that sort of supplementary question in a few months' time.