§ Mr. BeggsTo ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what the locations of land banks held for housing development by(a) the Housing Executive and (b) housing associations are; and what estimate he has made of the number of new homes which will be built on those land banks over the next five years. [89467]
§ Mr. BrowneThe Housing Executive owns land mainly as an inheritance from former housing authorities and through acquisition to satisfy identified need. Most of its land is in estates and would comprise a mixture of firstly, land on which the houses, or other essential buildings, have been built and secondly, amenity or open space land. The Housing Executive is currently identifying sites in its ownership that could be suitable for development, without giving rise to a serious loss of amenities or space.
The Housing Executive's land transfer programme for development by housing associations would allow for the following units to be built:
Housing Executive's land transfer programme for development by housing associations Units Schemes 2002–03 342 26 2003–04 413 28 2004–05 446 31 2005–06 310 20 Note:
Figures for 2006–07 are not yet available.
Additional land required to meet the Department's new build targets is acquired on an ongoing basis.
Housing Associations do not maintain a land bank. When a housing need is identified in a particular location, land is purchased on a one-off basis to meet that need. The land purchase is, therefore, specific to a particular project. In general, the land is used right away.
The identification of individual locations of land held for both could be done only at disproportionate cost.