§ Mr. BercowTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what the total area in square feet of all empty properties owned by(a) his Department,(b) his agencies and (c) other public bodies for which he has had responsibility was in each year since May 1997. [37814]
979W
§ Angela EagleThe total area in square feet of empty properties in the Home Department's estate and the estate of its agencies and non-departmental public bodies for each of the financial years requested is as follows:
Area (square feet) 1997–98 225,829 1998–99 1,108,477 1999–2000 1,923,759 2000–01 1,514,727 Nearly all the vacant space is accounted for by buildings, which are held for refurbishment or redevelopment. This includes prisons or other secure facilities for which, town planning approval can be difficult to obtain. The 1999–2000 and 2000–01 figures also include Lunar house, Croydon, which is now reoccupied following a major refurbishment and 2 Marsham street which is being held for demolition and redevelopment. Figures on the floor area of empty residential homes are not kept and a meaningful estimate could be made only at disproportionate cost.