§ Mr. SpearingTo ask the Secretary of State for the Environment how much has been contributed(a) item by item (b) in toto by public funds to the infrastructure serving the complex of the Canary wharf project; and what is this figure as a proportion of the estimated current freehold value of the property, or the highest public offer extant, together with the purchase price of the site from the Port of London Authority and its selling price to the first Canary Wharf Company. [37332]
§ Sir Paul BeresfordPublic spending on infrastructure serving the Canary wharf area totals £44.5 million and is broken down as follows:
£ million West Ferry Road Phase 1 Heron Quays Roundabout 5.3 Canary Wharf Eastern Access Road 22.3 West Ferry Road Electricity sub-station and National Grid Enhancement 16.9 Of course, all infrastructure expenditure by the London Docklands development corporation brings regeneration benefits to the economy and attractiveness of the docklands overall. Isolating separate areas of expenditure and attributing it to particular projects distorts its significance and broader benefits.
No valuation of the current freehold value of the Canary wharf complex is available.
The LDDC acquired land within the Canary wharf site from the Port of London Authority as part of a package deal—including water areas—and no separate breakdown of the land value is available. Of the 72 acre site purchased by Olympia and York, about 22 acres of land and 21 acres of water were in LDDC's ownership and these were sold for £8 million cash plus £12 million towards additional infrastructure.