HC Deb 18 October 1972 vol 843 cc81-2W
Mr. Parkinson

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment (1) what percentage of land in Great Britain is at present urbanised;

(2) what estimates have been made by his Department of urban building needs by the end of the century.

Mr. Peter Walker

There are at present no regular statistics of land use, but the proportion of land in Great Britain in urban use in 1970 has been estimated indirectly as 8.6 per cent. The figure is given, with a full explanation, in "Long Term Population Distribution—A Study", published by H.M.S.O. last year. In the same publication it was also estimated that 6.4 million acres, or 11.3 per cent. of the total area of Great Britain, might be in urban use by 2001. Since this estimate was made the population projection for 2001 has been revised, and estimates based on the latest projections would be lower.