HC Deb 05 December 2001 vol 376 cc380-1W
Mr. Don Foster

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions what assessment he has made of the urban regeneration implications(a) around St. Pancras Station, (b) for London and (c) for the United Kingdom as a whole, of the Channel Tunnel Rail Link. [15737]

Mr. Jamieson

My Department assessed the urban regeneration implications of the Channel Tunnel Rail Link in 1998 to inform the appraisal of the value for money of the restructured financing deal with London and Continental Railways announced in June 1998. The assessment considered the impact of the link on commercial property development, house building and job creation in the main areas affected by the link, that is, around St. Pancras, Stratford, and Ebbsfleet stations and the Royal Docks. Impacts in the rest of the United Kingdom were not assessed. The assessment of the gross direct regeneration implications associated with the link is shown. The cost of creating a similar number of additional jobs through other regeneration programmes was estimated to be £1,000 million (at 1998 prices).

St. Pancras/ King's Cross Stratford Ebbsfleet Royal Docks Total
Floorspace (sq ft) 4,682,190 5,960,140 12,168,780 2,798,190 25,609,300
Number of dwellings with CTRL 3,285 1,200 16,260 0 20,745
Jobs created:
With CTRL 14,078 21,587 36,210 6,861 78,736
Without CTRL 10,764 6,457 5,627 5,382 28,230
Additional Jobs 3,314 15,130 30,583 1,479 50,506

The estimated impact of the link on development values was around £650 million (net present value at 1997–98 prices). The table shows the results of the assessment by area.

£ million NPV
Without CTRL With CTRL Uplift due toCTRL
St. Pancras/King's Cross 175 385 210
Stratford 50 255 205
Ebbsfleet 35 255 220
Royal Docks 10 20 10
Total all areas 270 915 645