§ 71. Mr. Pavittasked the Minister of Housing and Local Government what assessment he has made of new office blocks in the Greater London area which are still empty; and if he will introduce legislation to restore to residential occupancy houses within a radius of five miles of Parliament which have been converted for use as offices since 1939.
§ Mr. MacCollIn April, 1966, 31 million square feet of new office space remained unoccupied. Local planning authorities are now submitting returns for April, 1967 but they are not yet complete.
As regards the second part of the Question, my right hon. Friend does not think that legislation would be justified.
Where residential buildings are being used with temporary planning permission for offices, the planning authorities will be able to secure restoration to housing if they are suitable for it, when the permissions expire. Where, however, buildings have permanent planning permission for office use, the cost of buying them up or paying compensation to ensure their 66W return to residential use could be very high. Many of them would be expensive to adapt for modern living conditions.