§ Dr. David ClarkTo ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food (1) how many hectares of agricultural land have been lost to development for each decade since 1960;
(2) how many hectares of agricultural land have been lost to development in each county since 1961.
§ Mr. GummerThe agricultural census records show that in the periods 1961–1970, 1971–1980, 1981–1986 the average estimated net area of farmland transferred to urban and industrial development (including mineral workings) each year in England was 14,000, 12,700 and 5,300 hectares respectively. More recent data in this series are not available because the census data on this issue have proved increasingly unreliable. However, since 1985 a new source of information on changes in land use has been developed, using information recorded by the Ordnance Survey in the course of map revision on the new and previous use of land. The Department of the Environment publishes annually, starting in 1986, statistics on land use change in England in its statistical bulletin series, copies of which are available in the Library of the House.
Information by county is not available in the form requested.