§ Mr. Tony Banksasked the Secretary of State for the Environment why the number, as opposed to the identity, of respondents to his invitation to consortia of private developers to contact him concerning the possible sale of development land at Thamesmead is a matter of commercial confidence.
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§ Sir George YoungAs I explained to the hon. Member in my answer of 25 October, at column 691, the responses we received are regarded as a matter of commercial confidence.
§ Mr. Tony Banksasked the Secretary of State for the Environment why he has dropped his proposal for a sale to private developers of land at Thamesmead in the event of the Greater London council being abolished.
§ Sir George YoungWe remain of the view that private developers should have a primary role in the development of the vacant land at Thamesmead, whether or not control passes to a trust.
§ Mr. Tony Banksasked the Secretary of State for the Environment if his detailed explorations into the possibility of transferring Thamesmead to a trust in the event of the Greater London council being abolished have revealed what sources of public funding could be made available to such a trust.
§ Sir George YoungWe should be ready to consider applications for grants such as derelict land grant or urban development grant, subject to the normal grant rules.
§ Mr. Tony Banksasked the Secretary of State for the Environment if his detailed explorations into the possibility of transferring Thamesmead to a trust in the event of the Greater London council being abolished have revealed how many staff would be needed by such a trust.
§ Sir George YoungThis would be a matter to be determined by any trust which is established.
§ Mr. Tony Banksasked the Secretary of State for the Environment what would happen to the development land at Thamesmead in the event of Greater London council housing there being transferred to the boroughs of Bexley and Greenwich, as proposed in paragraph 2.6.5. of his Department's publication of 31 July on abolition, if the Greater London council were abolished.
§ Sir George YoungIn that event, our preferred solution would remain as proposed at paragraph 11 of my Department's consultation paper of October 1983.
§ Mr. Tony Banksasked the Secretary of State for the Environment if his detailed explorations into the possibility of transferring Thamesmead to a trust in the event of the Greater London council being abolished have revealed the relative site areas of Thamesmead and Stockbridge village trust.
§ Sir George YoungThe relative site areas are, within wide limits, of only limited relevance to the suitability of the trust approach.
§ Mr. Tony Banksasked the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will wait until spring 1986, when his Department has completed its assessment of Stockbridge village trust, before taking a decision on whether to transfer Thamesmead to a trust along the lines of Stockbridge village, in the event of the Greater London council being abolished.
§ Sir George YoungThe decision will be made as soon as consultations with residents and others concerned have been completed and the results analysed.