§ Mr. Frank FieldTo ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he is in a position to make a statement about the development plans of the Merseyside development corporation on the Wirral side of the Mersey; if he will detail the size of the Merseyside 319W development corporation's budget for the next three years; and what proportion of this is expected to be spent on developments in the Wirral.
§ Mr. Trippier[holding answer 23 November 1987]: The development plans of the Merseyside development corporation for its Wirral development area relate, primarily, to the reclamation of 114 acres of derelict dockland for industrial, commercial and residential purposes. In order to progress these plans, the corporation needs to own the land. It has announced today that agreement to purchase has now been reached with the landowners, the Mersey Docks and Harbour Company. I welcome this agreement. I hope it will lead to the early regeneration of this area. To this end an increasing proportion of MDC's spending will be devoted. Their estimated annual expenditure is shown in the table. Staff, office and estate management costs are excluded.
Year Total MDC expenditure (£ million) Wirral Designated Area (£ million) Per cent. 1987–88 25.2 3.8 15 1988–89 25.1 6.5 26 1989–90 21.0 5.3 25