§ Mr. RedmondTo ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many dwellings were demolished in the Wanstead area solely for the purpose of facilitating the construction of the M11 road link; how many dwellings were demolished for other purposes; with whose agreement and with whose authority demolition took place; what was the cost of rehousing those displaced and who funded that expenditure; in what locality those displaced were rehoused; and what other plans there are for the future use of the land now vacant consequent on demolition.
§ Mr. NorrisThis question relates to operational matters of the Highways Agency. I have asked the agency's chief executive, Mr. Lawrie Haynes, to write to the hon. Member.
Letter from Lawrie Haynes to Mr. Martin Redmond, dated 4 May 1994:
As the question you tabled in the House about the demolition of dwellings in Wanstead for the A12 Hackney Wick to M11 Link Road relates to operational matters for the Highways Agency, I have been asked to reply to you direct.The first of four main contracts for building the Link Road started in the Wanstead area last September. A total of 19 dwellings had to be demolished to make way for the construction. All were included in the made compulsory purchase Order for the scheme, together with other land and non-residential property needed in connection with the works. The only exception to this were areas of Epping Forest land, the acquisition of which was sanctioned by Act of Parliament. At the time of demolition, all the dwellings had been conveyed to the Secretary of State for Transport, many of them some considerable time ago under the provisions for planning blight. No dwellings in Wanstead have been demolished other than for the road; and no authority was needed for demolition beyond the statutory Orders for the new road.For completeness, I should explain that up to 24 other dwellings in the Cambridge Park area of Wanstead had been demolished more than a decade ago: they had also been acquired under planning blight resulting from earlier proposals to widen this part of the A12.Under the Land Compensation Act 1973, any responsibility for rehousing those displaced by compulsory purchase falls to the local housing authority. To date, no rehousing costs have been incurred by the Highways Agency, but the Act's provisions allow the relevant authority—for Wanstead, the London Borough of Redbridge—to make a claim in due course. Those rehoused were 594W mostly tenants of either the Department, that Borough or a Housing Association. Some found alternative premises with the assistance of their landlords; others made their own arrangements. I am not privy to where they may have moved to.You may wish to note that dwellings have also been demolished in the Leyton and Leytonstone areas either for works in advance of the further main contracts or in preparation for those contracts. In addition, two not strictly required for the works have had to come down for structural reasons. Other dwellings bought in connection with the road under planning blight or discretionary purchase provisions, but not needed for it, will ultimately be sold, as will any surplus non-residential property or marketable pockets of land.