§ Mrs. Jegerasked the Secretary of State for the Environment what is his estimate of unlet office accommodation in central London; what amount is in course of building; and for what floor area planning permission has been granted but building not started.
§ Mr. Guy BarnettI regret that this information is not available from Government records. According to recent estimates made by the Greater London Council at 31st December 1976 there was more than 16 million sq ft of empty office space in central London, and almost 19½ million sq. ft. of unbuilt office space for which planning permission had been granted up to 31st December 1974; of The latter figure, some 10 million sq ft consists of existing offices where demolition or refurbishment is planned, and thus over 9 million sq ft would represent additional office space.