§ Ms GordonTo ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, pursuant to his answer concerning the Limehouse tunnel road link on 23 March,Official Report, columns 277-78, what were the reasons for the demolition of 164 units of the St. Vincent estate not related to construction of the tunnel, stating the number of units related to each purpose; what is the approximate breakdown of the £45 million costs of rehousing 314 households and the cost of demolition of the 256 dwellings demolished; and what is the approximate percentage and acreage of the area now used for (a) tunnel purposes, (b) other current purposes and (c) future residential, commercial, or retail and other uses.
§ Mr. BaldryThe reasons for the demolition of the 164 units not directly related to the construction of the Limehouse link, were as follows
26 dwellings (St. Christopher House) received Dangerous Structure Notices served during construction.28 dwellings (Jamaica House) were demolished for the new bus only diversion/Limehouse Causeway junction improvement.110 dwellings (Cayman, St. Vincent, St. Lucia, Nevis and Bermuda Houses) were unsuitable in terms of design, condition and location for refurbishment as family accommodation.The breakdown of the £45 million cost of rehousing the 314 households at the St. Vincent estate is as follows:
£ million Rehoused with housing associations in the borough 29.8 Rehoused in existing borough stock 6.5 Assisted to buy own property 1.9 Moved to out of borough housing association stock 4.4 Other (disturbance/administrative/security 2.3 Demolition costs (164 units) 0.24 Total 45.14 Note: The demolition costs of the remaining 92 units form part of the overall tunnel construction costs and are not available separately.
The approximate percentages and acreage of the areas used for the following purposes are: 330W
Acres Percentage (a) Tunnel purposes: Limehouse Link works 1.11 22 (b) Other current purposes: Bus diversion/junction improvements 0.13 57 (c) Future residential/commercial/retail and other uses: Youth club 0.43 8 Residential/open space/commercial 2.72 54 Site roads 0.63 TOTAL 5.02