Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what the total value was of land owned by National Park authorities that was sold in (a) 2010-11, (b) 2011-12, (c) 2012-13, (d) 2013-14 and (e) 2014-15; and what estimate she has made of the likely value of such land in each of the next five years.
National Park and the Broads Authorities are independent bodies operating within the local government framework. They are provided with powers to dispose of land under the 1972 Local Government Act and review their landholdings and liabilities from time to time as part of good financial management practice. The information requested is not held centrally by Her Majesty’s Government and the National Park and Broads Authorities have provided the following information on the value of land sales:
2010/11 £60,000
2011/12 £344,400
2012/13 £180,500
2013/14 £1,557,000*
2014/15 £45,700
No estimate of the likely value of such land in each of the next five years has been made.
*includes the sale of Blencathra field study centre. The sale to the Field Studies Council enabled the Lake District NPA to re-invest part of the receipts in the development and opening of a new Northern Area Office in Threlkeld, from which all NPA activity in the northern part of the Park is now based. The remainder was re-invested in other projects across the National Park and the sale of the field study centre has provided the Field Studies Council, a registered charity, with an asset.