§ Mr. Ernest G. Perryasked the Secretary of State for the Environment whether he will make a statement about the role of local authorities in the provision of land for private development.
§ Mr. FreesonI have issued a circular to local authorities calling upon them to take up their role as suppliers of land for development. It points out that the Government have allocated over £100 million76W for the Community Land Scheme over the next two years and it sets out in some detail the actions authorities need to take in close consultation with builders and developers, to ensure an adequate flow of land. Rolling programmes are being reintroduced and authorities will be free to plan their activities on the basis of annual block borrowing allocations, instead of having to seek individual site approvals. Various other administrative improvements are being made to speed up the rate at which land can be brought forward, with particular encouragement for development in inner city areas.
We had to impose severe restrictions on local authorities' activities under the scheme in December 1976, as part of our general package of measures to deal with the economic difficulties we were then facing. Despite these restrictions, local authorities succeeded in acquiring nearly 800 acres of land at a cost of something over £10 million. The authorities disposed of over 100 acres to builders and developers, realising about £3½ million from capital receipts and rental income. About 40 per cent. of the land acquired and 75 per cent. of that disposed of was for housing, nearly all of the remainder being for industry. Now that the restrictions have been removed, future prospects are encouraging, with the changes described in the circular the way is now clear for the land scheme to make vigorous progress, to the benefit of authorities, builders and developers, and the community as a whole.
As an additional encouragement, not mentioned in the circular, I have decided to increase the share of the surplus a local authority may keep from its community and dealings. Details of this change will be announced as soon as I have concluded discussions with the local authority associations.