HC Deb 18 May 1972 vol 837 cc687-8
Q3. Mr. Clinton Davis

asked the Prime Minister if he is satisfied with the coordination between the Department for the Environment and the Ministry of Defence concerning land use; and if he will make a statement.

The Prime Minister

Yes, Sir. There should be even closer co-ordination when the new Property Services Agency, which will incorporate the lands organisation of the Ministry of Defence, is set up in the Department of the Environment on 1st September.

Mr. Davis

Is the Prime Minister aware that the Ministry of Defence at present occupies about 4,000 acres of land in London which could be used for housing purposes? Is it not paradoxical that, as the leader of the London Boroughs Association, Alderman Sherman, has commented, while the Government found it quite easy to move out of their bases east of Suez, they have found it well nigh impossible to move out of their barracks west of Shoreditch?

The Prime Minister

As a matter of fact, in the last five years some 1,300 acres of defence lands has been sold to local authorities in the London area alone, and practically the whole of this has been used for housing. As it becomes possible to give up more, my right hon. and noble Friend the Secretary of State for Defence will do so. When the inquiry under Lord Nugent is completed, we shall see the whole position.

Mr. Sydney Chapman

As we are one of the most densely populated countries in the world, would not my right hon. Friend agree that there is need of an acre-by-acre survey of all land in Britain and that there is no better place to start than by examining the 560,000 acres in the ownership of the Ministry of Defence?

The Prime Minister

We set up the committee of inquiry under Lord Nugent very soon after coming into office to carry out precisely the examination for which my hon. Friend has asked, and I expect that committee to report before the end of this year. In the meantime, if any land becomes immediately available, the Ministry of Defence will take the necessary action to make it available for disposal, especially for housing.