HC Deb 28 March 1988 vol 130 cc297-8W
Mr. Butler

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will give for each year since the inception of Warrington-Runcorn new town the square footage of factory space(a) allocated and (b) filled; and if he will give an estimate of the number of jobs created and safeguarded in so doing.

Mrs. Roe

Since 1981, when the Warrington and Runcorn development corporation was formed, the annual completions, and occupations of factory space, and the numbers of industrial jobs resulting are as follows:

Factory floor space (sq ft)
completed occupied Jobs created
1981–82 683,200 519,865 1,294
1982–83 585,025 525,050 852
1983–84 46,650 679,900 1,192
1984–85 390,570 941,080 1,521
1985–86 266,000 859,090 1,050
1986–87 527,630 679,440 1,186
1987–88 542,680 918,440 1,741

Note 1. Completed factory floor space relates to the Corporation's advance factory units and to leasehold and freehold disposals of land for private development.

Note 2. Occupied factory floor space includes re-lets and stock-in-hand from previous years.

Note 3. The figures for jobs created relate to industrial development as a whole and include an element of jobs "safeguarded"; but disaggregated figures are not readily available.