HC Deb 03 November 1998 vol 318 cc455-6W
Mr. Pike

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions what proposals the Government have to provide resources to councils to enable the setting up of the National Land Use Database proposed in the White Paper, Planning for the Communities of the Future; and if he will make a statement. [57416]

Mr. Raynsford

The Government are committed to raising the proportion of new homes expected to be built on previously developed land to 60 per cent. over the next ten years. The National Land Use Database (NLUD) is important to the achievement of that objective.

Comprehensive information about the amount of land devoted to different uses is not currently collected in any nationally consistent way. This new database, which my Department is developing in partnership with the Local Government Management Board, Ordnance Survey, English Partnerships and local authorities, will eventually comprise a definitive database of land use in England, in a form that can readily be kept up to date.

For the first phase, results for which will be available in April, local authorities have been asked to provide information on previously developed sites in their area that may be available for redevelopment for new housing or other uses. This information will assist in the setting of regional targets for the re-use of previously developed land for housing, as announced in the policy document "Planning for the Communities of the Future".

With our partners in NLUD, we have taken a number of steps to assist local authorities in providing the information. These include: workshops—6 workshops have been arranged across the country to discuss with local authorities practical issues about the compilation of the database; database—each local authority will be given a copy of a customised database, to help them in capturing the information; surveyors—English Partnerships will be contracting surveyors to visit each local authority to assist them in drawing up their list of sites; Geographic Information System (GIS) tools—suppliers of GAS software to local authorities are being encouraged to develop tools to assist local authority staff to capture site boundaries in computer form; helpline—there is a dedicated helpline for local authorities to call if they have queries.

In addition, we recognise the tight timetable for supply of the data and have extended the deadline to early February 1999.

This initiative has the full support of the Local Government Association and will be an invaluable resource to local authorities in the future.