§ Bob SpinkTo ask the Deputy Prime Minister what assessment he has made of whether the scale of the development which it foresees in the Thames Gateway can be accommodated on previously developed brownfield sites. [153584]
§ Keith HillOne of the key features of the Gateway as a suitable location for sustainable development is the presence of a substantial reservoir of previously developed and brownfield land. The Gateway is estimated to contain some 2 per cent. of the land area of 1531W the south east but contains 17 per cent. of its current supply of previously developed land. The national target for development on previously developed land is 60 per cent.: in the period 1997–2000 an estimated 80 per cent. of new dwellings in the Gateway were built on previously developed land. The targeted investment now being mobilised through funding from the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister, the Department for Transport and Regional Development Agencies aim to maintain this trend by increasing the viability and potential development density on key sites in the Gateway.
The scale of development we have projected for the Gateway is based upon work with local partners on the presence and pattern of suitable development land. Details will be determined through the reviews of Regional Plans which is being undertaken by the three Regional Planning Bodies which cover the Gateway.