§ Mr. Skeetasked the Secretary of State for the Environment what is the total acreage of land in Bedfordshire and the percentage of the total occupied: (a) by agriculture, (b) by housing, industrial and commercial users, (c) by mineral workings, (d) by afforestation and (e) by environmental open space for recreational purposes.
§ Mr. RipponInformation is not available in precisely the form requested. The following, however, is an analysis of land use in the county which has been prepared by the planning department of the Bedfordshire County Council in the course of its survey work. The categories of use are broadly similar to those listed in my hon. Friend's Question.
Total area 119,000 hectares Agricultural … 77 per cent. Urbanised areas … l0percent. Mineral Workings … 1 per cent. Woodlands … 4.5 per cent (excludess plots below 1 hectare) The area that remains is divided into the following categories:
Water … 25 per cent. Unfarmed land (including rural parks and golf courses) … 2.5 per cent. Roadside verges and disused railways … 05 per cent. Remainder … 2 per cent. No separate figure is obtainable for recreational open space since this is included in the figure for urbanised areas except in the case of golf courses.