HC Deb 19 March 1986 vol 94 cc290-1
19. Mr. Chapman

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will report progress on initiatives to tackle derelict land.

Mr. Kenneth Baker

Under this Government the expenditure on derelict land grants has more than doubled in real terms. An area roughly the size of Wembley stadium is now being reclaimed every working day.

Mr. Chapman

I welcome the Government's initiatives and their record, especially on urban development grant. Does my right hon. Friend see these grants as yet another mechanism for protecting green belt land? Will he look sympathetically, in the light of the proven success in the London docklands and on Merseyside, of extending the urban development corporation concept as a way of dealing with dereliction?

Mr. Baker

I entirely agree that the pressure on the green belt, not only in London but in all the other main conurbations, is considerable. Since coming to office we have extended the green belt to 4.5 million acres — roughly the size of Wales. There are pressures on the green belt all the time. The presumption is against development in the green belt. To accommodate the pressure for land, we must reclaim more derelict and under-used land in our cities. I am glad to say that we have increased expenditure from £24 million a year to, I believe, about £80 million this year. I consider that that is money very well spent.

Mr. Park

Will the right hon. Gentleman take on board the fact that, by considering a complete city when one is looking into derelict land, one stops the development of derelict areas in the inner cities? I refer particularly to the possible development of the Foleshill gasworks site in my constituency, which development is continually turned down by the Department of the Environment.

Mr. Baker

I shall certainly look into that particular case. I have diverted more of the flow of derelict land grant, together with the urban development grant, to the towns and inner cities, because obviously most of the derelict land is within their boundaries. I think that councils and developers all over the United Kingdom find that this money is very useful in bringing useless land back into productive use for housing, industry or commerce.