HC Deb 17 May 1972 vol 837 cc506-7
10. Mr. Allason

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment whether he will recommend the grant of planning permission for the construction of housing with temporary sewerage systems, to be linked at a later date with a permanent sewerage system, in order to avoid a bottleneck in the provision of land for housing.

The Minister for Local Government and Development (Mr. Graham Page)

My right hon. Friend said in the debate on land and housing on 27th April that he has undertaken to grant loan sanction for sewerage schemes in advance of need in connection with land assembly schemes and I think it will generally be preferable to proceed in this way. But every planning application is dealt with on its merits.

Mr. Allason

Has my hon. Friend any estimate of the acreage of building land which is held up for lack of suitable sewerage? Does he not realise that it takes about five years to provide sewerage in the normal way?

Mr. Page

I have no estimate of that, but I think it best to proceed with the loan sanction for permanent sewerage. The package deals offered for temporary sewerage are not as satisfactory as we should wish.