§ Mr. Moateasked the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will confirm that the building of the Maplin airport and the resultant noise shadow over Kent will not prejudice development on the Isle of Sheppey or on the mainland of Kent and would not be regarded as a sustainable objection to the granting of planning permissions.
§ Mr. RipponThe forecast noise shadow for Maplin, published in April last year in our consultation document on runway siting, does not suggest that level of noise exposure over Sheppey and Kent would reach 40 NNI—the level at which we advise local authorities in circular 10/73 to begin considering whether to place planning conditions on development. I cannot of course anticipate local authorities' own decisions in these matters.
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§ Mr. Moateasked the Secretary of State for the Environment what were the land reclamation costs for the Maplin project as estimated first by Roskill and then by his Department in 1972 for the site C costings, compared with the latest estimates; and how much of the increase is attributable to an increase in land area, how much to inflation and how much to an escalation in costs.
§ Mr. RipponThese estimates were prepared on different bases and are not readily comparable. The Roskill research team estimated reclamation costs to be£70 million at 1968 prices for an area of approximately 10,500 acres for the airport. The consultation document on runway siting estimated reclamation costs for site C at£107 million at 1971 prices for a different and larger site for the airport. Current estimates of£175 million at 1972 prices apply to an area of 18,500 acres, including seaport development. When compared with the Roskill figures some 60 per cent. of the increase is attributable to the increased area to be reclaimed, about 22 per cent. to inflation and the balance covers estimates of Crown Estate Commission charges and other contingencies.