To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what proportion of new development took place on industrial reclaimed land in 1992; what assessment he has made of the effectiveness, in terms of environmental safety, of reclamation of contaminated land; and if he will make a statement on the role played by his Department in support of the Urban Regeneration Agency in recycling former industrial sites.
Information about the amount of land reclaimed for development in the years since 1988 will be available from the 1993 derelict land survey. This survey is currently under way and the results should be available early next year. The Government are aware of the need to ensure that the reclamation of contaminated land is effective and has published guidance on this subject. Further research into the threats to the environment posed by contaminated land and the effectiveness of remedial measures is currently under way. Subject to Parliament's approval, the Urban Regeneration Agency will be set up in the autumn. It will be for the URA to determine its priorities and initial work programme within the scope of a corporate plan to be agreed with Ministers, but recycling industrial sites is likely to be one of its main objectives.