§ Mr. Gwynfor Evansasked the Secretary of State for Defence what costs have been incurred so far in preparing the site of the new Ministry of Defence offices at St. Mellons, near Cardiff. constructing or altering roads relevant to the development, constructing new offices and associated facilities and landscaping the site, respectively.
§ Mr. William Rodgers£1,364 on site and soil surveys to date.
§ Mr. Gwynfor Evansasked the Secretary of State for Defence what is his estimate of the total costs on completion of: (a) preparing the site of the new Ministry of Defence offices at St. Melons, (b) constructing or altering 26W roads relevant to the development, (c) constructing new offices and associated facilities, (d) landscaping and (e) any other activities concerning the transfer of the jobs and employees; and what proportion of the costs under each heading are to be borne by central Government and by local government, respectively.
§ Mr. William RodgersPlanning of the purpose-built office accommodation of St. Mellons is currently at the pre-design stage and it is not possible to give meaningful estimates of costs pending finalisation of the blocks of work to be dispersed between 1980 and 1982 and the eventual customer requirements. However, the only costs to be borne by local Government relate to the provision of the Eastern Peripheral Road forming part of the District Plan for the St. Mellons-Trowbridge Manor Development and giving access to the Ministry of Defence site at St. Mellons. These costs are currently under discussion by the Property Services Agency, the Cardiff City Council and the Welsh Office.
§ Mr. Gwynfor Evansasked the Secretary of State for Defence what arrangements his Department has made with the Cardiff City Council to ensure sufficient provision of council houses and mortgage facilities for Ministry of Defence civil servants being transferred to the new offices at St. Mellons near Cardiff.
§ Mr. William RodgersPreliminary discussions have already taken place with the Cardiff City and South Glamorgan County Councils about the likely needs of dispersed staff for council and private housing in 1980 to 1982. No difficulties are foreseen bearing in mind that both the locally recruited and transferred staffs can be expected to live in a comparatively wide area around the St. Mellons site.
§ Mr. Gwynfor Evansasked the Secretary of State for Defence if he will publish in theOfficial Report a statement giving details of structural deficiencies, if any, in the office facilities, at present occupied by the Ministry of Defence, which are to be vacated upon transfer of the Ministry's administration to St, Mellons near Cardiff.
§ Mr. ArmstrongI have been asked to reply. I am not aware of any.