§ Mr. SheermanTo ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions how many hectares of contaminated brownfield land were identified in the UK in(a) 1970, (b) 1980, (c) 1990 and (d) 2000. [132106]
785W
§ Mr. MullinEstimates of the amount of contaminated land are not available. The amounts of derelict land in England were recorded in the Derelict Land Surveys. These defined derelict land 'land so damaged by industrial or other developments that is incapable of beneficial use without treatment.' Not all derelict land is necessarily contaminated.
The Derelict Land Surveys show that the area of derelict land in England amounted to 43,273 hectares in 1974, 45,683 hectares in 1982, 40,500 hectares in 1998 and 39,600 hectares in 1993.
The National Land Use Database provides 1998 estimates for England of all previously developed land that is unused or may be available for redevelopment. The total of 57,710 hectares includes some 19,340 hectares of derelict land. This figure is lower than the 1993 estimate partly because of reclamation and partly due to the exclusion of some derelict land that has blended back into the natural landscape and was considered to have limited development potential.