§ Mr. Heddleasked the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will publish in the Official Report a synopsis of his Department's statistical bulletin (87/7) regarding land use change in England, with specific reference to the amount of housing development which took place on land which was previously developed or was vacant land in urban areas.
§ Mr. WaldegraveThe Department's statistical bulletin (87)7 gives summary results from the analysis of land use changes as recorded by Ordnance Survey in 1986. These are the second set of results from an experimental project started in 1985. In all, some 23,000 hectares of land in England were recorded in 1986 as having a change of use. About 46 per cent. of land developed for residential use had been previously developed, including land already used for housing purposes, or was vacant land in built-up areas.
This proportion varies across the regions from 31 per cent. in the east midlands to 59 per cent. in the north-west.