§ Mr. Geraint HowellsTo ask the Secretary of State for Wales what was the average price paid for the following agricultural land in Wales during 1989(a) lowland. (b) marginal and (c) hill land; what were the corresponding figures for each of the last 10 years; and if he will make a statement.
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§ Mr. Peter WalkerInformation is available only on the basis of land grade. The average price paid for agricultural land of five or more hectares in vacant possession is shown in the table:
Average land prices (£): Reported in 12 months ended September Grades 1 and 2 Grade 3 Grades 4 and 5 1979 2,593 2,368 1,607 1980 4,351 3,240 2,181 1981 4,504 3,117 2,027 1982 3,353 3,119 1,792 1983 3,002 3,443 2,079 1984 4,801 3,816 2,427 1985 5,512 3,705 2,070 1986 4,238 3,642 2,213 1987 3,292 3,171 2,196 1988 4,376 2,906 1,604 1989 5,065 3,680 3,627 Note: Grades 1, 2 and 3 approximate to the lowland areas, grades 4 and 5 to the less-favoured areas of marginal and hill land. There is a lag between agreeing a sale and reporting it which means that prices reported in the 12 months ended 30 September generally related to sales agreed in the previous calendar year.