HC Deb 24 March 1986 vol 94 c347W
Mr. Gareth Wardell

asked the Secretary of State for Wales if he will publish in the Official Report for each county in Wales the amount of derelict land, in hectares, in (a) 1974 and (b) the latest available date; and if he will indicate the number of hectares of land restored by each county for the corresponding period.

Mr. Nicholas Edwards

Figures are not available for 1974, but the amount of derelict land in 1972 when the last survey was undertaken was as follows:

1972
Hectares
Clwyd 1,177
Dyfed 2,113
Gwent 2,762
Gwynedd 1,968
Mid Glamorgan 3,631
Powys 665
South Glamorgan 508
West Glamorgan 1,658
Total 14,482

Detailed information is not available for the amount of derelict land at present, but the Welsh Development Agency's assessment, taking account of land reclaimed and new dereliction, is that the overall amount of dereliction remains broadly the same.

Figures are not available by county since 1972 but the area of derelict land reclaimed in the period since 1975 is as follows:

Area Reclaimed
Hectares
Clwyd 151
Dyfed 244
Gwent 767
Gwynedd 81
Mid Glamorgan 734
Powys 17
South Glamorgan 102
West Glamorgan 449
Total 2,545

Mr. Gareth Wardell

asked the Secretary of State for Wales if he will publish in the Official Report the distribution of derelict land in Wales in (a) 1974 and (b) the most recent available date, by the following categories: (i) spoil heaps, (ii) excavation and pits, (iii) military and so on dereliction, (iv) derelict railway land, (v) other forms of dereliction and (vi) total.

Mr. Nicholas Edwards

The information is not available in the form requested. A survey of derelict land in Wales was carried out in 1972 and this identified some 14,000 hectares of derelict land of which about 50 per cent. was thought to be attributable to coal mining activities. The latest estimate by the WDA, taking account of land reclaimed and new dereliction, is that the overall amount of dereliction remains broadly the same.