§ Mr. Neil Thorneasked the Minister of Transport what is the total cost of acquisition of residential properties under the blight provisions for proposed roads by 574W the Department of Transport or its predecessor for the financial years 1974–75, 1975–76, 1976–77, 1977–78 and 1978–79.
§ Mr. Kenneth ClarkeI regret that this information is not readily available and 575W could not be obtained without disproportionate cost.
§ Mr. Neil Thorneasked the Minister of Transport whether any surveys have been carried out to establish if residential owners of properties blighted by road proposals can sell successfully on the open market; and, if so, at what percentage of the unblighted value.
§ Mr. Kenneth ClarkeNo such surveys have been carried out. However, we purchase property suffering blight only where the owner can show that he has not been able to sell at a reasonable market value. Considerable evidence on the problems
576W
PEDESTRIAN CASUALTIES AND ACCIDENTS INVOLVING ONE VEHICLE AND ONE OR MORE PEDESTRIANS: BY POLICE FORCE: GB: 1977–1978. Police Force Pedestrian Casualties Number Accidents 1977 1978 1977 1978 Metropolitan Police … 16,940 16,431 15,026 14,727 Cumbria … 482 481 443 446 Lancashire … 1,686 1,843 1,565 1,700 Merseyside … 2,522 2,540 2,392 2,422 Greater Manchester … 4,131 4,101 3,842 3,741 Cheshire … 775 819 712 764 Northumbria … 1,895 1,853 1,778 1,693 Durham … 629 628 596 580 North Yorkshire … 600 629 447 430 West Yorkshire … 2,860 2,995 2,722 2,803 South Yorkshire … 1,710 1,736 1,581 1,523 Humberside … 909 920 848 811 Cleveland … 933 787 874 733 West Midlands … 4,223 3,920 3,950 3,670 Staffordshire … 1,062 1,038 999 967 West Mercia … 810 812 756 757 Warwickshire … 370 371 331 329 Derbyshire … 1,025 1,006 959 921 Nottinghamshire … 1,069 1,233 990 1,138 Lincolnshire … 456 391 410 366 Leicestershire … 949 841 879 789 Northamptonshire … 494 456 452 386 Cambridgeshire … 411 381 371 295 Norfolk … 541 526 492 467 Suffolk … 430 448 389 398 Bedfordshire … 560 551 483 476 Hertfordshire … 652 626 593 536 Essex … 1,251 1,273 1,127 1,134 Thames Valley … 1,485 1,426 1,343 1,291 Hampshire … 1,601 1,463 1,479 1,317 Surrey … 651 651 553 561 Kent … 1,397 1,394 1,272 1,269 Sussex … 1,343 1,231 1,233 1,107 City of London … 251 215 234 204 Devon and Cornwall … 1,337 1,367 1,223 1,239 Avon and Somerset … 1,198 1,176 1,086 1,054 Gloucestershire … 400 408 362 362 Wiltshire … 439 471 406 428 Dorset … 569 580 530 528 North Wales … 666 651 598 594 Gwent … 504 473 453 426 South Wales … 1,504 1,608 1,426 1,486 Dyfed-Powys … 297 348 271 323 Northern … 212 224 194 210 Grampian … 583 642 520 550 Tayside … 463 512 435 470 caused by blight is, therefore, continuously available to us.