§ Mr. Cantasked the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will explain the new use of habitable rooms per acre as a measure of the density of residential 25W development in, for example, his comments on the Birmingham structure plan.
§ Mr. FreesonA measure, based on habitable rooms per acre, should give local plan authorities in Birmingham and the Black Country more flexibility to secure the construction of dwellings of the most appropriate sizes to meet local needs than the more usual historic measure, based on dwellings per acre. As my hon. Friend will be aware a measure based on dwellings per acre would not take account of the general trend towards smaller families and smaller homes. I will write to my hon. Friend in more detail.