§ Mr. Spearingasked the Secretary of State for the Environment (1) what proportion of the costs of £140 million which 19W he has estimated as the cost of reclaiming land at Maplin he expects to be used for purchase of fill supplied by the Port of London Authority as part of its scheme for a new dredged channel to the proposed port development;
(2) what are the component costs of the £140 million which he has estimated as the cost of reclaiming land at Maplin, and the basis or source of each respective estimate.
§ Mr. Eldon GriffithsThe first stage of reclamation at Maplin is estimated to cost approximately £140 million at 1972 prices. This stage, of about 14,000 acres, will provide land for the full two-runway development of the airport, together with the seaport and commercial and industrial land. Of the estimate of £140 million, about £19 million is for the sea wall and about £4 million for drainage.
For the total scheme at Maplin the estimated cost of reclamation is £175 million at 1972 prices. This is for the works shown on the plan and section deposited with the Maplin Development Bill, and is made up as follows:
£million Sea walls 20 Reclamation of land from the sea (including dredging) 150 Associated drainage works 5 The total area to be reclaimed is about 18,500 acres. A detailed estimate of reclamation costs was made by the Roskill team. These have been brought up to date on the basis of informed assumptions about the availability of, and haulage distances for, fill of adequate quality, and making allowances for increases in cost and changes in location and size. The use of material dredged from the proposed Port of London Authority channel will be for the Maplin Development Authority to decide.