§ Mr. Hayasked the Minister of Housing and Local Government to state the approximate total area of land acquired by compulsory purchase by public and local authorities in England and Wales for the years 1945 to 1955, inclusive.
§ Mr. SandysI can answer only for those acquisitions of land under compulsory powers for which I am the confirming authority. Complete records of the area of land acquired have not been kept over the whole period. The information available is as follows:
Year Acquired under Housing Act, 1936 Part V. Acquired under—Town and Country Planning Acts, 1944 and 1947. Town Development Act, 1952. New Towns Act, 1946. Acres Acres 1945 not available. 6,098 1946 1947 1948 1949 1950 4,365 2,931 1951 4,942 2,348 1952 4,791 2,064 1953 4,415 1,740 1954 3,263 1,790 1955 2,030 723 In addition, 173 acres were acquired in 1955 for miscellaneous local government services (including water and sewerage). Figures under this head are not available for the preceding years.