Written question asked by Andrew Dismore (Labour) on Wednesday, 7 November 2007, in the House of Commons. It was due for an answer on Monday, 12 November 2007. It was answered by Jim Murphy (Labour) on Thursday, 29 November 2007 on behalf of the Foreign and Commonwealth Office.

Northern Cyprus: Construction

Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what estimate he has made of the rate of building on Greek Cypriot-owned land in northern Cyprus (a) before and (b) after the rejection of the Annan plan; and if he will make a statement.

Answer: The Government have not estimated the number of properties that have been built or which are under construction in northern Cyprus. However, property development in northern Cyprus has clearly accelerated since the rejection of the Annan plan, resulting in large numbers of new properties being built. The Government are concerned at the scale of such construction on Greek Cypriot owned land in northern Cyprus. Our high commission in Nicosia regularly raises the issue of property development with the Turkish Cypriot leadership. We believe that the difficult and complex issue of property is only likely to be fully resolved in the context of a comprehensive settlement and we urge both sides to engage constructively with the United Nations to enable settlement negotiations to start as soon as possible.In our contacts with the Turkish Cypriot leadership, we recognise the Turkish Cypriots' need for economic development in support of reunification. But we urge them to ensure that any property development which does take place does so in a manner that is both environmentally sustainable and does not complicate an eventual solution.

Secondary information