§ Lord Kennetasked Her Majesty's Government:
What was the percentage of the land of England not covered with buildings, roads, (and their verges), airports, and all other developments in 1900, 1925, 1950, 1975 and 1980, and of these percentages, what percentage was grade 1 farming land; what was the total area of inner-city land available for building in the same years, and in what year, if present trends continue,
- (a) England will be completely covered by development, and
- (b) will there be no more grade 1 farming land.
§ Lord SkelmersdaleNone of these questions can be answered precisely. The Agriculture Economic Development Committee has estimated that 82.2 per cent. of England was not covered by "urban" or "miscellaneous" uses in 1976. For a series of past years, roughly comparable with those requested, 1319WA Professor Best, (Land Use and Living Space: 1981) gives the following percentage, but for England and Wales combined.
Agriculture and "Urban" Woodland (inc. transport) "Other land" 1901 88.7 4.5 6.8 1931 88.0 6.7 5.3 1951 87.0 8.9 4.1 1971 84.0 11.0 5.0 Of the 82 per cent. of non-urban land in England in 1976, about 76 per cent. was agricultural, as opposed to forests or woodlands, and of this agricultural land only 3.3 per cent. was grade 1. Every effort is now being made by my department in concert with the Ministry of Agriculture and local planning authorities to prevent top grades of farming land being taken for urban development. There are no reliable data about trends with respect to grade 1 land, or inner city land available for building.
However, figures from the annual June census of farmers show a decreasing trend in recent years in the total amount of all agricultural land being taken for urban development. The latest data, which are for the five year period up to June 1981, show the annual transfer in England to have been, on average, approxi-mately 17,600 acres. The total land area not covered by urban development in England, in 1976, was about 28,500,000 acres. Forestry and miscellaneous uses accounted for only some 4,000,000 acres. The remainder was in agricultural use, and, at present rates, transfers to urban development are taking place at the rate of roughly 1 per cent. every 15 years, compared with past rates of urban increase of 1 per cent. every decade. There are many factors, including, for example, future population, building densities and the recycling of urban land for development, which will influence the extent of the developed area, and make projections highly unrealiable.