§ Mr. Charles Smithasked the Minister of Town and Country Planning if he will provide a list of the new towns for which he has designated sites under the New Towns Act, 1946; the progress which has been made in each case by the development corporation in using their powers under Section 8 of the Act; the number of houses in each case actually completed; and where no houses have been completed the date in each case by which it is anticipated that houses will be ready for occupation.
§ Mr. SilkinThe list for which my hon. Friend asks in the first part of the Question is as follows: Stevenage, Crawley, Hemel Hempstead, Harlow, Aycliffe, Peterlee, and Welwyn-Hatfield.
The magnitude of the task facing Development Corporations in the provision of new towns, with all that that implies—not only dwelling houses, but factories, shops and the other requirements of a balanced community—has meant that the corporations have so far 202W been principally engaged on the necessary preliminary work. Moreover, my hon. Friend will be aware of the effect on new towns of the policy on capital investment as set out in Command Paper No. 7268. None the less, the erection of a relatively small number of houses has been begun and a few are actually completed and occupied.