| Previous Section | Index | Home Page |
Retail Developments
Mr. Steinberg: To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions if he will make money available to local authorities to help them to enable shopping centres in town and cities to compete equally with designated out-of-town shopping areas. [75277]
Mr. Raynsford: The Government's policy is to encourage retail development in the centre of towns and cities rather than at out of town locations. This was set out in our Response to the Select Committee report on Shopping Centres [Cmnd 3729], which also reaffirmed our commitment to Planning Policy Guidance note 6 (PPG6): Town Centres and Retail Developments. Through our funding of the Association of Town Centre Management and the Civic Trust, we have been assisting local authorities to promote town centre management by preparing and disseminating good practice.
Mr. Waterson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions how many (a) out-of-town shopping mall and (b) superstore planning applications in England have been refused, and on what principal grounds, on appeal in the past year. [75504]
Mr. Raynsford: Planning permission has been refused, on appeal, in respect of two applications for superstores in England, in 1998, primarily on the grounds that they failed the policy tests in PPG6.
Mr. Prior: To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions (1) if he will make it his practice to publish lists of (a) all outstanding planning permissions for superstores, (b) all superstore planning appeals that have been approved in the past five years, with a summary of the reasons for the approval and (c) all superstore planning appeals that have been refused in the past five years, with a summary of the reasons for the refusal; and if he will make a statement; [75779]
- (2) if he will list all superstore planning appeals that have been (a) approved and (b) rejected in the last five years; and if he will make a statement; [75688]
(3) if he will list all the outstanding planning permissions for superstores; and if he will make a statement. [75689]
Mr. Raynsford: Most decisions on planning applications for retail developments are taken by local planning authorities. They provide statistical returns on applications which they handle under the general category of "major retail, distribution and servicing". The information requested in respect of appeals is not held centrally over the timescale requested. It is, therefore, not feasible to assemble the information requested, except at disproportionate cost. We have no current plans to publish such lists.
Millennium Compliance
Mr. Jenkin:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions (1) if he will make a statement on measures necessary to ensure millennium compliance in the systems for which the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency is responsible; when millennium compliance will be achieved; and what the latest date is by which millennium compliance must be achieved in order to remain fully operational; [75476]
15 Mar 1999 : Column: 463
Ms Glenda Jackson
[holding answer 8 March 1999]: Like all other Government Departments and Agencies, the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency submits quarterly reports to CCTA on progress towards millennium compliance. These reports are analysed by the Cabinet Office and from the basis of my right hon. Friend the President of the Council's reports to Parliament. It would not be appropriate for me to anticipate her next statement, but, when it is made, a copy of DVLA's report will be placed both in the Library and on the Internet. Reports will be accompanied by a series of tables that illustrate how well departments and agencies are doing against a number of specific performance criteria.
Ms Kelly:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions what plans he has to reform housing finance; and if he will make a statement. [75635]
Mr. Raynsford:
In December 1998 we issued a consultation paper "A New Financial Framework for Local Authority Housing: Resource Accounting in the Housing Revenue Account" seeking views on proposals for changes to local authority housing finance. The proposals would introduce a form of resource accounting for the Housing Revenue Account (HRA). It is also proposed to remove expenditure on rent rebates from the HRA leaving the account as a landlord account reflecting the cost of providing housing at below market rents. The aim of the proposed New Framework is to make housing accounts easier to understand for both councils and their tenants and to enable better-informed decisions about the management of housing assets. Consultations are not yet complete and there will be an announcement about our plans in due course. A copy of the consultation paper is in the Library.
Mr. Martlew:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions what assessment he has made of the contribution of Carlisle Airport to the economic development of Cumbria and the Scottish Borders. [75521]
Ms Glenda Jackson:
A "North of England Regional Air Services Study" has been commissioned by my Department. It is part of a number of such studies across the UK. The North of England Study is expected to report this summer, so my hon. Friend will understand that I cannot comment at this stage on the contribution of Carlisle Airport to the economic development of the Region or Cumbria and the Scottish borders until the findings of the study are known.
Mr. Waterson:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions what statistics his Department collects on the number of brown-field sites in town centres redeveloped for residential use. [75511]
15 Mar 1999 : Column: 464
Mr. Raynsford:
The Land Use Change Statistics published by my Department provide information on the area of land changing to residential use that was previously developed for urban uses. (Urban uses comprise residential, transport and utilities, industry and commerce, community services, previously developed vacant land and derelict land). Numbers of new dwellings built on previously developed land (excluding conversions of existing dwellings) are also recorded. This information provides statistics for the proportion of new residential development that takes place on previously developed land.
Some previously developed land is located in rural areas. My Department has developed the analysis of land use change to identify separately changes that occurred inside and outside urban areas as defined for the 1991 Census. At present it is not possible to distinguish those land use changes that occurred within town centres, but this might become possible following research under way to define the boundaries of town centres for statistical purposes.
The latest results of the Land Use Change Statistics, together with more information about how they are compiled, were published in the statistical bulletin "Land Use Change in England No. 13", a copy of which is in the House of Commons Library.
Mr. Alan Campbell:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions how many watch-keeping staff were in post on 30 September 1998 at Tyne Tees Maritime Rescue subcentre; and what was the (a) monthly and (b) daily officer incident rate. [75829]
Ms Glenda Jackson:
On 30 September 1998 there were 13.5 watch keeping staff in post at Tyne Tees. The (a) monthly officer incident rate was 2.84 and (b) the daily officer incident rate was 0.09.
Mr. Campbell-Savours:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions if he will include proposals for an improvement at the A596/A597 junction at Workington as a priority scheme under the programme of network enhancement projects. [75414]
Ms Glenda Jackson
[holding answer 10 March 1999]: I have asked the Chief Executive of the Highways Agency, Mr. Lawrie Haynes, to write to my hon. Friend.
Letter from Peter Nutt to Mr. Dale Campbell-Savours, dated 15 March 1999:
15 Mar 1999 : Column: 465
(2) if the systems for which the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency is responsible are millennium compliant. [75475]
The Transport Minister, Glenda Jackson, has asked Lawrie Haynes to reply to your recent Parliamentary Question about the improvement of the A595/A597 junction at Workington. I am replying on Lawrie's behalf in his absence.
We have drawn up our programme of Local Network Management schemes for 1999/2000. In doing so we have had to consider competing priorities across the trunk road network. As a result, I am sorry to have to tell you that at present we are unable to include the improvement of the A596/A597 junction in the programme.
As you know, the A596 is one of the trunk routes in Cumbria identified as non-core and which it is proposed to detrunk as part of the Government's integrated transport policy. I understand that you are aware that a delegation from Cumbria County Council and Copeland Borough Council made representations about the
detrunking proposals at a recent meeting with Transport Ministers, Dr. John Reid and Lord Whitty. Those representations are being considered together with others, and a final decision by Ministers on the split of the network into core and non-core routes will be announced as soon as possible.
If the A596 is confirmed as a non-core route to be detrunked then from 1 April 2000 the Agency will only initiate further improvements that it considers necessary to keep the route in a safe and serviceable condition. It will be for Cumbria County council to consider the need for other improvements in the context of their Local Transport Plan. Provisional plans covering the period 2000/01-2004/05 are due to be submitted by the end of this July.
| Next Section | Index | Home Page |