§ Mr. Peter Millsasked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he will give the figures of the net annual decrease in agricultural area of England and Wales from 1939 up to the present, showing separately building and other developments.
§ Mr. John MackieThe net average annual decrease in the area of agricultural land in England and Wales, between 1939 and 1966, was:
'000 acres Crops and Grass … … 11.7 Rough Grazing … … 33.0 Total … … 44.7 This Department does not specifically collect statistics relating to the uses of 102W land lost to agriculture but some information is obtained through the agricultural censuses. Estimates from this source show average changes during the period as follows:
'000 acres Building and general development (including mineral workings) -29.5 Sports grounds -2.6 Government Departments -13.6 Forestry Commission and Private Woodlands -19.0 Other changes +20.0 -44.7 These figures are affected by the large scale changes in land use that took place during and following the war. The average annual changes for the most recent five- and ten-year periods are as follows:
5 Year Average 1961–2 to 1965–6 '000 acres 10 Year Average 1956–7 to 1965–6 '000 acres Building and general development (including mineral workings) -34.9 -33.7 Sports grounds -3.2 -2.8 Government Departments +2.5 +2.9 Forestry Commission and Private Woodlands -14.1 +17.1 Other changes +2.3 -2.2 -47.4 -52.9 Annual figures for land lost from agriculture for housing and industrial development from 1945–46 to 1964–65 were given by my hon. Friend the Joint Parliamentary Secretary in a reply to a Question by the hon. Member for Bury St. Edmunds (Mr. Eldon Griffiths) on 6th July, 1966.—[Vol. 731, c. 67–8.]