§ Mr. Edward Gardnerasked the Secretary of State for the Environment whether he has sent a confidential memorandum concerning a plan to halt the future growth of new towns to the chairmen of the new towns development corporations; to which chairmen he sent it; and on what date.
§ Mr. ShoreOn 19th January a letter was sent on my behalf to the Chairmen of Milton Keynes, Northampton, Peterborough, Telford and Warrington Development Corporations in connection with the reappraisal of new towns' programmes which is part of my review of policies relating to decentralisation and the inner cities. The letter was concerned to establish different options for the future programmes of the five new towns concerned, and to evaluate their consequences. It did not contain any decision about their future growth rates, because no such decision has yet been taken. With the exception of Central Lancashire, the forward programmes of the other new towns are mainly so far advanced that there is little scope for material changes.