§ Mr. Robert Hughesasked the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will publish in the Official Report the number of houses in each sector, publicly owned, privately owned for occupation, and privately owned for letting, of the 25,000 houses obtaining grant under the Housing Act, 1971, and the monetary value in each sector.
§ Mr. Gordon CampbellI assume that the 25,000 houses are those approved in the six months ending 31st March, 1972, to which I referred in the reply I gave on 21st April to my hon. Friend the Member for Perth and East Perthshire (Mr. MacArthur).—[Vol. 835, c.169–70.]
The following is the information:
is taking to meet unsatisfied demands for houses for owner-occupation; and if he will make a statement.
§ Mr. Gordon CampbellI am very glad to say that in the last two years the number of houses built for owner-occupation in Scotland has increased considerably. But there is still an unsatisfied demand for private houses and my intention is to ensure that this demand can be met.
Last month I asked the local planning authorities in Scotland for information about the amount of land zoned for private housing development and the progress made with servicing it. I have already reminded the authorities that 363W they should aim to have in their development plans at any one time sufficient land zoned for owner-occupied houses to meet the expected demands for at least the next five years, and if possible for up to 10 years. When I receive from the authorities the returns I have asked for I will consult with them, particularly those in the central belt, to identify inadequacies of zoning, and consider appropriate remedies. This will be done in the context of the current consultations between my Department and local planning authorities about future development plan programmes in order to ensure that the additional land zonings accord with the evolving strategies for each sub-region.
Land must not merely be zoned, but also brought on to the market. I intend to remind local planning authorities of their powers to acquire land by compulsion, if necessary in order to secure its use in accordance with their development plans. I expect them to use those powers in such a way as to make land available for house building and also ensure that it is developed rapidly. Any additional loan sanctions needed for this purpose will be granted, and for a period authorities will be allowed to capitalise the interest charges on their acquisition of land for private housing development.
Rapid development implies adequate servicing of land, and I will ask local planning authorities to give particular attention to this. In this context I have recently announced my intention of bringing the Sewerage (Scotland) Act, 1968, into force next year.
I propose to consult further with the Scottish Association of Registered House Builders about building more rapidly on the land presently available in order to meet the needs of this growing market. In my consultations with the local planning authorities I will remind them of the possibility of using the powers available in the Town and Country Planning (Scotland) Act, 1969, relating to time limits on planning permissions for promoting 364W more rapid development of land for private housing.