§ Mr. Steenasked the Secretary of State for the Environment if he can make an estimate of the acreage of land available for the building of homes in the Mersey-side area.
§ Mr. KaufmanThe most recent available information is in a report prepared by a team of officers doing preliminary survey work in connection with the Merseyside structure plan. This indicated that at the end of 1971 sites in the area of the present Merseyside metropolitan county either having the benefit of planning permission or firmly allocated for residential use totalled some 1,860 hectares—4,594 acres—of which some 1,230 hectares—3,038 acres—would be available before 1977.
I understand that Merseyside County Council in conjunction with the metropolitan district councils is currently conducting a fresh survey of land available 145W for residential purposes within the county. Analysis of the results has not yet been fully completed but preliminary indications tend to confirm the earlier figures.
§ Mr. Steenasked the Secretary of State for the Environment if he can make an estimate of the acreage of land capable of reclamation on which homes could be built in the Merseyside area.
§ Mr. KaufmanAccording to information recently supplied by the Merseyside County Council, 1,129 acres of land in the county council's area are considered to be capable of reclamation. There is no breakdown of this figure into land potentially suitable for housing.