§ Mr. Liptonasked the Secretary of State for the Environment whether he will encourage local authorities either to sell or lease land at a low price to builders willing to participate in low cost housing schemes.
§ Mr. ChannonI would refer the hon. Member to paragraph 20 of the White Paper "Widening the Choice: The Next Steps in Housing" (Cmnd. 5280).
§ Mr. Sydney Chapmanasked the Secretary of State for the Environment whether
332W
LIST OF LOCAL PLANNING AUTHORITIES Region County Councils County Borough Councils South East … Berkshire Bournemouth Essex Canterbury Hampshire Eastbourne Hertfordshire Luton Kent Oxford Isle of Wight Portsmouth Oxfordshire Southampton Surrey Southend West Sussex West Midlands … Staffordshire Birmingham Warwickshire Burton-on-Trent Coventry Dudley Solihull Stoke-on-Trent Warley West Bromwich Wolverhampton Worcester SouthWest … Plymouth Torbay East Anglia … East Suffolk Yarmouth Huntingdon and Peterborough East Midlands … Lincolnshire, Parts of Holland Derby Leicestershire Leicester Yorkshire and Humberside … Barnsley Bradford Doncaster Huddersfield Kingston-upon-Hull Sheffield North West … Cheshire Bolton Chester Rochdale Stockport Wallasey Northern … Cumberland Carlisle Gateshead Hartlepool Newcastle he will list the local planning authorities which have so far produced registers of authorities in the South East and West 102/72; which of them have forwarded copies to him; and what action he takes to ensure that the information is accurate, up to date and presented in the form specified in the circular.
§ Mr. ChannonListed below are the local planning authorities which have so far published such information. Only authorities in the South-East and West Midlands were asked to send copies to the Department and those listed below have done so. The information received conforms generally with the requirements of the circular and will be discussed with both local authorities and representatives of the building industry. The main check on the detailed accuracy of the information published lies in its scrutiny by all concerned.
333W
§ Mr. Sydney Chapmanasked the Secretary of State for the Environment whether he will list the sites formerly owned by
Poulton le Fylde (Lancs.) … … 60 acres In process of disposal Lichfield (Staffs.) … … 60 acres Mansfield (Notts.) … … 118 acres Working (Surrey) … … 15 acres Subject to negotiations for disposal. Hornchurch (Essex) … … 188 acres Leeds … … 8 acres Disposal deferred during lifetime of former owner
§ Mr. Worsleyasked the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will give details of the land in the metropolitan green belt which it is proposed to release for housing.
§ Mr. EyreThe review referred to in the White Paper "Widening the Choice: The Next Steps in Housing" (Cmnd. 5280) is one of identifying areas within the metropolitan green belt which contribute little to green belt purposes. My right hon. Friend the Minister for Local Government and Development has asked the Standing Conference on London and South-East Regional Planning to undertake an urgent study to identify limited areas where housing development might be possible without damage to green belt policies. When the study is complete and the results made known, planning applications for appropriate sites within such areas will be considered on their merits.
A rough assessment of the possibilities suggests that some 2,000 acres might be found suitable for housing. This figure must be seen against a total metropolitan green belt area of 610,000 acres.