HC Deb 17 March 1982 vol 20 cc354-6
19. Mr. Greenway

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment how many acres of vacant and derelict land have been detailed in the registers set up for that purpose; and what percentage of it has been sold.

Mr. Heseltine

The 35 registers so far published reveal over 21, 000 acres of unused or underused public land of more than one acre in size. Over 500 acres have been disposed of since the scheme started and a number of other sites are in the course of negotiation.

Mr. Greenway

I welcome the progress described by my right hon. Friend, but does he agree that auction might produce faster progress in the use of land that is shown publicly on the registers? Does he agree also that auction might bring that land into use more quickly? Is he aware that in my constituency, Sir Laurie Barratt, whose firm has been mentioned earlier, bought some publicly owned land and had starter homes up and occupied in substantially less than a year? Is he not to be congratulated?

Mr. Heseltine

I certainly congratulate Sir Laurie Barratt on his remarkable achievement of providing low-cost homes for a large number of people who are buying their first house. I sympathise with the wish of my hon. Friend the Member for Ealing, North (Mr. Greenway) to get a move on with the disposal of such land. I am encouraged to discover that although we have so far produced only 35 registers, about half of the land is suitable for development and one-sixth of it is suitable for housing. This is, therefore, a great opportunity.