§ Lord Kennetasked Her Majesty's Government:
What is the area of the South East of England, including Greater London, that (a) was built up in 1981 and (b) will be built up if their projections for future needs are fulfilled by the year 2001, and why Greater London was left out of the figures stated by the Secretary of State for the Environment on 22nd June 1988 [Official Report, Commons, 22/6/88; col. 1096].
The Earl of CaithnessAbout 435,000 hectares or 16 per cent. of the South East including Greater London are estimated to have been built up in 1981, and by 2001 that is expected to increase to about 464,000 hectares or 17 per cent. of the South East.
Greater London shows a small decrease in land in urban use over the three years 1985 to 1987 for which land use change statistics have been obtained. This indicates that most development in Greater London is taking place on recycled urban land. The total amount of land in urban use in Greater London is not expected to change appreciably and the effect of including the figures for Greater London is marginally to reduce the amount of increase expected.