HC Deb 02 December 1981 vol 14 cc171-2W
Mr. Nicholas Winterton

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment what statistics his Department has on the acreage of agricultural land lost each year for the last five years because of development.

Mr. Giles Shaw

The average annual loss of agricultural land to urban development in England during the five-year period ending June 1980 has been estimated at 8,400 hectares. The trend over the last five years has been downwards.