§ 5. Mr. Johnasked the Secretary of State for Wales how many factory units he estimates will be established in the proposed Llantrisant New Town.
§ Mr. Peter ThomasIt is not possible to say, but I expect about 18,000 jobs to be provided in a new town of the size envisaged.
§ Mr. JohnWould the right hon. Gentleman agree that there is a difference between wishful thinking and planning and that the vagueness of his proposals on industry is giving rise to grave doubt in the locality of Llantrisant about how many jobs will be created?
§ Mr. Peter ThomasIt is impossible to plan until the new town is set up. These are just proposals; following the proposals there will be consultations with the local authorities. I shall presumably make a designation order following those consultations, and then the usual statutory procedures will apply.
§ Mr. George ThomasBut the right hon. Gentleman has told us again this afternoon that he expects 18,000 new jobs to be provided at Llantrisant. On what basis does he calculate this figure and found his expectations?
§ Mr. Peter ThomasI said that it was not possible to say but that I expected about 18,000 jobs to be provided in a new town of the size envisaged. The reason why I said that was that Professor Buchanan's original target of a town of 94,000 by 1981 has been reduced in my proposals to between 70,000 and 75,000. This would mean that the original estimate by Professor Buchanan of 22,000 jobs would be reduced to 18,000.