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Dormer Windows
Mr. Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions what plans he has to amend planning law in respect of the siting of dormer windows. [114919]
Ms Beverley Hughes: The Town and Country Planning (General Permitted Development) Order 1995 grants a general planning permission for a range of minor works of development to dwelling houses. This includes the insertion of dormer windows, subject to certain limits on size and except where it would alter a roof slope facing a highway. In granting permitted development rights, we have to strike a balance between giving freedoms to individual householders to improve their homes, and protecting the amenity of neighbouring properties. We are not aware of any significant problems in the exercise of permitted development rights relating to dormer windows and therefore have no plans to change these at the present time. We will, however, continue to monitor any representations received on this issue.
Bypasses
Mr. Jenkin: To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions how many bypasses have been removed from the trunk road and motorway improvements programme since May 1997. [114977]
Mr. Hill: Our 1997-98 review of the programme resulted in the outright cancellation of two bypass proposals because of their impact on environmentally sensitive areas: the A36 Salisbury bypass and the A49 Hereford bypass. Three bypass schemes dropped before May 1997 were reinstated in our targeted programme of improvements, which includes a total of 19 schemes that will provide bypasses for local communities. A number of other bypass schemes were remitted to studies, regional planning bodies and, in the case of schemes on routes proposed for de-trunking, to local highway authorities for consideration as part of their local transport plans. Full details of all our review decisions are given in "A New Deal for Trunk Roads in England".
McKinsey Report
Mr. Jenkin: To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions if the Commission for Integrated Transport took into account in drawing up its recent report on 44-tonne lorries for the Government, the evidence in McKinsey's report of 10 February produced for Railtrack. [114979]
Mr. Hill: McKinsey's study for Railtrack of potential demand for rail freight, using a sectoral analysis of existing business and opportunities, did not report until 12 March. I understand that in preparing its report the Commission for Integrated Transport was aware of McKinsey's work in progress but took the view that it did not add to the analysis of the impact of 44 tonne lorries already available from other sources. The shadow Strategic Rail Authority will have access to McKinsey's model in developing its forthcoming freight strategy.
Press Officers
Mr. Jenkin:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions how many of
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his Department's press officers have access to the PA Newsfeed via their desk-top PCs; and at what cost to public funds. [114918]
Ms Beverley Hughes:
The Department of the Environment, Transport and the Regions current subscription to the PA Newsfeed allows for a maximum of two simultaneous connections to the PA service. These two connections are available to all press officers via their desk-top PCs. The cost is £7,453.44 per annum.
Ms Kelly:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions how many applications for opencast mines in greenbelt areas have (a) been approved, (b) been sent to public inquiry and await determination, (c) been sent to public inquiry and are subject to further evidence having been requested by him following the issue of the minerals planning guidance and (d) have been rejected; and of these, how many in each category have had costs awarded against those opposing the application since May 1997. [114775]
Ms Beverley Hughes:
The information is not available in the form requested.
However, according to the latest statistics produced by the Planning Officers' Society, between 1 April 1997 and 31 March 1998, 14 applications for opencast coal mining were approved by mineral planning authorities and 13 applications were refused (including three appeal decisions refused by the Secretary of State).
Since May 1997, two appeals have been allowed and nine appeals have been dismissed by the Secretary of State.
At present six appeals await determination, of which five have been to public inquiry. Three of those appeals, which have been to public inquiry, are subject to consideration of further evidence requested by my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions.
Information on how many of these applications were for sites in greenbelt areas is not readily available and cannot be obtained except at disproportionate cost.
Costs have not been awarded against those opposing the application in any case since May 1997.
Mr. Loughton:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions what distinction his Department makes between brownfield sites and usable brownfield sites when identifying the amount of developed land available for redevelopment. [115011]
Ms Beverley Hughes:
Annexe C of Planning Policy Guidance Note 3: Housing gives a definition of previously developed land. This definition excludes previously developed land which has blended into the landscape; land where provision has been made for restoration to its natural state; and land which has been put to amenity use and cannot be regarded as requiring development. Using this definition of previously developed land, phase 1 of the National Land Use Database (NLUD) collected information from local authorities on previously developed vacant and derelict sites, whether or not they were available
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for redevelopment. NLUD also included vacant buildings and sites in use which were allocated for a specific use in the local plan, had planning permission for housing, or with known development potential. In order to estimate how much of the land reported was available for redevelopment, local authorities recorded for each site whether it was allocated in the local plan, the type of any planning permission and the suitability for housing.
Mr. Loughton:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions (1) how many (a) private cars, (b) commercial vehicles and (c) public transport vehicles have been converted to run on liquid petroleum gas since May 1997; [115026]
Mr. Hill:
The table shows the number of vehicles which can run on gas (either liquid petroleum gas or compressed natural gas) in the United Kingdom, according to DVLA statistics. The latest data available are for the end of June 1999, and the number of vehicles converted to gas now is expected to have continued to increase. More recent data will be available in due course. (The nearest available data for May 1997 are for the end of 1996).
(2) how many (a) private cars, (b) commercial vehicles and (c) public transport vehicles can run on liquid petroleum gas in the United Kingdom. [115025]
| Vehicle type | Number of vehicles registered to run on gas as of 30 June 1999 | Increase in the number of vehicles registered to run on gas since 31 December 1996 |
|---|---|---|
| Cars | 12,357 | 8,272 |
| HGVs | 68 | 24 |
| Buses | 36 | 15 |
| Other | 2,922 | 245 |
Redevelopment Funding
Mr. Loughton: To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions if he will publish a list of those areas to be designated as urban priority areas for redevelopment funding. [115017]
Ms Beverley Hughes: The Urban Taskforce report--"Towards an Urban Renaissance"--published in June 1999 recommended the introduction of urban priority areas as one of a wide-ranging series of proposals for the renewal of towns and cities. The report was welcomed by the Government as an important contribution to the urban renaissance debate. Many of the recommendations have already been taken forward. Others, including those on urban priority areas and the measures that might be applied within them, are being considered as part of our preparations for the White Paper on urban policy, due to be published later this year.
Regional Chambers
Mr. Loughton:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions what has been
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the cost of each of the regional chambers in each of the years since their inception; and what is the projected cost for the next five years. [115015]
Ms Beverley Hughes:
The costs of the voluntary regional chambers are entirely a matter for their members.
Mr. Loughton:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions what public funding has been made available for Hull airport in the last three years. [115023]
Mr. Mullin:
In the last three years we have issued the following amounts in supplementary credit approvals for investment at Humberside Airport:
1997-98--£1.27 million
1998-99--£0.42 million
1999-2000--nil.
Following the purchase by Manchester Airport of a majority shareholding in the company owning the airport, Humberside Airport was removed from borrowing controls in August 1999.
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