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Urban White Paper
Mr. Loughton: To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions when he plans to release his Urban White Paper. [117767]
Ms Beverley Hughes:
When it is ready.
7 Apr 2000 : Column: 607W
Mr. Sanders:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions if he will list (1) the 10 largest conurbations in England not linked to the trunk road network; [117596]
Mr. Hill:
The trunk road network constituting a national system of routes for through traffic was defined under the Trunk Roads Acts of 1936 and 1946. The network has altered over the years as new roads, including motorways, have superseded parts of the network which have in consequence been de-trunked. The Secretary of State is required to keep the trunk road network under review. In developing our integrated transport policies set out in the White Paper "A New Deal For Transport" (Cm 3950) we concluded that there were a number of existing trunk roads which mainly served local and regional traffic, that would be more appropriately managed by the local highway authorities to ensure integrated local transport and land use planning. We identified a core network of nationally important trunk roads in England taking the following factors into account:
(2) the criteria used for determining which roads are (a) trunked and (b) de-trunked; and if he will make a statement. [117597]
linking main centres of population and economic activity;
accessing major ports, airports and rail intermodal terminals;
joining peripheral regions to the centre;
providing key cross-border links to Scotland and Wales;
classification as part of the UK Trans-European Road Network.
It is considered that this core network serves to provide for the needs of through traffic to all significant urban areas in England. It is proposed to de-trunk the non-core routes.
| Urban area | Population (1991 census) |
|---|---|
| 1. Bournemouth | 358,321 |
| 2. Southend | 266,749 |
| 3. Aldershot | 231,194 |
| 4. Mansfield | 154,966 |
| 5. Thanet | 116,745 |
| 6. Basildon | 102,913 |
| 7. Torbay | 102,576 |
| 8. Hartlepool | 87,310 |
| 9. Weston-Super-Mare | 71,451 |
| 10. Harrogate | 66,178 |
Single Vehicle Approval Limits
Mr. John Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions if the single vehicle approval limits have been lifted; and what the schedule is for their total abolition. [117558]
Mr. Hill:
The limits for the "Very Low Volume" part of the scheme have not been lifted other than for equivalent single approvals granted by other member states of the European Economic Area. I am currently reviewing the schedule for their complete removal.
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Ms Walley:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions if he will meet Plantlife to discuss its proposals to prevent the spread of invasive species; and if he will make a statement. [117587]
Mr. Mullin:
My Department welcomes the work carried out by Plantlife identifying the problems caused by non- native invasive plant species. Next year, my Department plans to carry out a review of the effectiveness of current policies concerning non-native species which threaten native biodiversity. A meeting between myself and representatives from Plantlife could be arranged at the start of this review process.
Ms Walley:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions (1) what progress he has made towards meeting the target for combined heat and power by the end of 2000; [117765]
Mr. Meacher:
Good progress is being made in the growth of Combined Heat and Power (CHP) in the UK.
There are currently over 4GW of CHP installed in the UK on nearly 1400 sites, providing around 6 per cent. of electricity generated in the UK. The interim 5GW target for CHP is likely to be achieved next year. Meanwhile, the Government have announced their new target of at least 10GW by 2010 and are actively working toward this.
A draft CHP strategy, including a range of measures to achieve the new target will be issued shortly. These measures will include exemption of good quality CHP from the Climate Change Levy and a new CHP Club.
Mrs. Dunwoody:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions what progress his Department has made with the publication of the European Directive on Pedestrian Protection; and what assessment he has made of the effect of its provisions on reducing road casualties. [117777]
Mr. Hill:
We are currently awaiting the opportunity to examine the details of a European Commission proposal for a pedestrian protection Directive. We had expected the Commission to put forward their draft proposal in mid-March, and we were disappointed when this proved not to be possible. We are now urging the Commission to bring forward their proposal at the earliest opportunity.
Mr. Norman:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions how many houses his Department expects to be built in the South-East and East Anglia regions in (a) 2000, (b) 2001 and (c) 2002. [117786]
Mr. Raynsford:
Planned levels of housing provision for these years is already set out in development plans. Proposed changes to the draft Regional Planning
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Guidance for the South-East and East Anglia were published on 27 March and are now subject to consultation. Final RPG is likely to be in place in autumn 2000, following which local authorities will consider the need to review their development plans. Whether, and when, they need to make changes to their plans will depend on the rate of provision in existing plans, the period the plan covers and the revised rate of provision for their area for the future. For the South-East, the latter will be determined by the distribution of the total, on which I am consulting local authorities through SERPLAN.
Mr. Norman:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions what discussions he had with South-east county council leaders before deciding that housing targets for the South-east would be set on a five yearly basis. [117793]
Mr. Raynsford:
The intention to introduce a "plan, monitor and manage" approach to planning for housing at the regional level was announced in "Planning for the Communities of the Future" (Cmnd 3885) in February 1998. It has since been the subject of wide discussion and was reflected in the consultation draft of Planning Policy Guidance note 11 (Regional Planning) published in February 1999. Under this approach, the annual average rate of housing provision set out in the draft changes to the Regional Planning Guidance for the South-east is on-going but subject to monitoring and review at least every five years, and sooner if necessary. I am currently consulting local authorities, through SERPLAN, on the proposed changes to the draft RPG.
Mr. Norman:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions what forecast his Department has made of the effect on car traffic in the south-east in terms of mileage of journeys undertaken of the building of 215,000 additional dwellings by 2005. [117790]
Mr. Raynsford:
It is not possible to provide a reliable forecast. The housing needs in the south-east region outside of London derive in very large part from the needs of the people who are already in the region and those migrating into it from London. Any forecast of the additional car journeys generated by an additional 215,000 dwellings to cater for these needs would have to take account of the additional journeys generated by separate rather than shared households. Our policy is for development to be located as far as possible within existing urban areas, with more mixed use development and using sites which have ready and convenient access on foot, by cycle and public transport, thereby reducing the dependency on car travel. The net effect could be a reduction in additional car journeys compared with what would otherwise be the case.
Mr. Norman:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions what forecast his Department has made of the effect on total water consumption in the south-east of the building of an additional 215,000 dwellings in the south-east by 2005. [117791]
Mr. Raynsford:
The housing needs in the south-east region outside of London derive in very large part from the needs of the people who are already in the region
7 Apr 2000 : Column: 610W
and those migrating into it from London. Any forecast of water consumption associated with an additional 215,000 dwellings would need to take account of the additional consumption generated by households living separately rather than sharing accommodation while allowing for improved water conservation measures in new development. In view of the uncertainties involved my Department has made no forecast. However, draft Regional Planning Guidance for the south-east (RPG9) emphasises that local planning authorities need to take water resources into account when identifying land for development or redevelopment, working closely with the Environment Agency and the water industry.
Mr. Norman:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions what his Department estimates to be the available brownfield land for development in the south-east; and what proportion of this he expects to be available for housing development. [117785]
Mr. Raynsford:
Provisional estimates from the National Land Use Database were published in the DETR/Government Statistical Service Press Notice of 20 May 1999 and reflect returns made for 1998. They show the total amount of previously developed land reported by local authorities and how much of this was allocated in plans, had planning permission for housing or was judged suitable for housing by local authorities. The estimates do not show how much of the land was available for development. They are a snapshot and take no account of the future supply of previously developed land or changes to planning policy introduced by the new Planning Policy Guidance note 3 on Housing. The relevant estimates for the SERPLAN (including London) region are 15,730 hectares of previously developed land of which 9,320 hectares (59 per cent.) were judged suitable for housing.
(2) what is the current capacity for a combined heat and power plant in the United Kingdom; and whether the 5 GWe target for combined heat and power by the end of this year is likely to be met. [117764]
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