§ Mr. Wareingasked the Secretary of State for the Environment what is now the estimated cost of the international garden festival in Liverpool; and how much employment he expects it to generate.
§ Mr. Patrick JenkinThe approved budget of the international garden festival is now for gross expenditure of f19.3 million, which will be substantially offset by private sector sponsorship and income including gate receipts. This includes the very substantial cost of derelict land clearance, which would of course have been necessary if the land were ever to have been reclaimed for use. Some 350 people are at present employed on the construction of the festival. During the period that the festival is open, as many as 900 people will be employed directly in operating the festival, and many more jobs will be generated on Merseyside by the need to cater for the 3 million or more visitors expected to visit the festival.