§ Mr. Andrew F. Bennettasked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what has been the total acreage of land lost to farming, to all other land 633W uses, in England during the last 10 years; and what has been the average rate of farmland loss over that period.
§ Mr. StrangThe average annual net transfer of land in England out of agriculture, including rough grazings, to other uses over the 10 years 1965–66 to 1974–75, according to the latest information available, is estimated to be 55,770 acres (22,580 hectares) based on the following annual totals:
Year Thousand Acres (Thousand hectares) 1965–66 53.2 (21.5) 1966–67 32.5 (13.2) 1967–68 50.9 (20.6) 1968–69 51.6 (20.9) 1969–70 47.4 (19.2)* 1970–71 47.4 (19.2)* 1971–72 80.7 (32.7) 1972–73 74.9 (30.3) 1973–74 41.2 (16.7) 1974–75 77.9 (31.5) Total 557.7 (225.8) * Average annual figures for the two years. The annual totals are based on returns by farmers in the agriculture census at June each year, adjusted to discount changes in the coverage since 1969.