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Planning Permission

Mr. Drew: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister if he will make a statement on the numbers of campaigning and advertising signs in the countryside, with regard to the planning permission which is required; and what criteria are used to determine whether such signs constitute flyposting. [190892]

Keith Hill: Outdoor advertisements, including signs, and those displayed in campaigns in the countryside are controlled by local planning authorities. They will be lawfully displayed provided they are in accordance with the Town and Country Planning (Control of Advertisements) Regulations 1992. Fly-posting is any printed matter designed for the purpose of advertising, announcement or direction which is affixed without authorisation to any surface.

Playing Fields and Parks

Bob Spink: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister how many additional (a) playing fields and (b) parks he estimates will be required under the Government's plan for an additional 120,000 houses to be built between 2003 and 2016 in the Thames Gateway. [190940]

Keith Hill: This information is not held centrally. It has always been an important part of the planning system to co-ordinate new development with the infrastructure it demands, including green space. The plan-led system ensures that links between infrastructure and developments are properly investigated. Planning Policy Statement 12 (PPS12) requires that local planning authorities develop a strategic approach to infrastructure provision when preparing local development documents, in terms of transport, water, sewerage, waste and general community facilities.
 
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The Government's commitment to the provision of green space, including parks and playing fields, was laid out in Planning Policy Statement 1, which said that well designed public and green space were required as part of building sustainable communities. The Government stated in Planning Policy Guidance 17 that open space standards are best set at a local level as national standards cannot cater for local circumstances. Local authorities are expected to carry out assessments of the needs of their communities that will be used to set robust standards for the provision of all types of open space. This applies equally in the Thames Gateway as elsewhere in the country.

The Government are encouraging the enhancement and the creation of a range of new green space within the Gateway, not just playing fields and parks. The Office of the Deputy Prime Minister and Department for the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs jointly published Creating Sustainable Communities: Greening the Gateway in January 2004, setting out the importance of green infrastructure in the Thames Gateway.

The Office of the Deputy Prime Minister is funding a number of projects that will provide playing fields and parks within the Gateway. For example, we have awarded £18.5 million to the Craylands and Fryens development, which will include the construction of three new football pitches. The Office of the Deputy Prime Minister has also awarded £4.5 million for the Kent Thames Gateway Environment Programme, which will allow for the development of a new regional park in north Kent.

Regional Spatial Strategies

Bob Spink: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister whether the regional spatial strategies for the South East and East of England regions will be expected to identify the required level of provision for community facilities and infrastructure in respect of the Thames Gateway; and how these will reflect increased house-building in the Thames Gateway. [190688]

Keith Hill: The Thames Gateway is covered by three regional planning authorities—the Mayor of London, East of England and South East England. These three authorities have issued collectively an Interregional Planning Statement, published in August 2004. It sets out the allocation of 128,500 new homes in the Thames Gateway sub-region by 2016. Alongside the housing projections, the statement also identifies work to deliver environmental, social, physical and essential services to support the growth agenda and secure overall sustainability. The statement is not a statutory document, but serves as a collective approach for the three Gateway planning authorities until regional plans come to fruition.

Statutory planning guidance for the Gateway will be provided through the regional spatial strategies for London, the South East and East. The London Plan was published in February 2004. It has always been an important part of the planning system to co-ordinate new development with the infrastructure it demands. The plan-led system ensures that links between infrastructure and developments are properly investigated. Planning Policy Statement 12 (PPS12) requires that local planning authorities develop a
 
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strategic approach to infrastructure provision when preparing local development documents, in terms of transport, water, sewerage, waste and general community facilities.

Regional planning guidance for the South East and East of England regions is currently under development. It is a planning requirement that RSSs are prepared with the objective of contributing to the achievement of sustainable development. The draft strategies are being developed by the Regional Assemblies who will be expected to take into account community and infrastructure needs in producing their plans, and are duty bound to present several options. It is for example a requirement that regional strategies incorporate transport strategies that set out the transport infrastructure required to support development.

The Government Offices will be heavily involved in the development of the regional strategies and will work to secure commitments to the Thames Gateway programme not only in terms of housing numbers, but also in terms of the infrastructure needed to support growth.

In addition, the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister is working closely with other Government Departments to ensure that the raft of community services and infrastructure required to support housing growth will be delivered across the Gateway. This work is led by MISC 22, the Cabinet Committee that oversees the development of the growth areas in England.

School Provision

Bob Spink: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister how many additional (a) primary schools and (b) secondary schools will be required under the Government's growth plan for additional houses to be built between 2003 and 2016 in the Thames Gateway. [190740]

Keith Hill: It is the responsibility of each local education authority to plan school provision in its area taking account of changes in local population. The Office of the Deputy Prime Minister and the Department for Education and Skills are working together to assist local authorities in planning future needs in respect of school provision, for example, by providing forecasts of population changes in the Thames Gateway.

Where plans are developed for new primary schools, or to enlarge any other existing schools, to meet population growth, these must be subject to local consultation before being published. The final decision on the proposals will generally be taken by the local School Organisation Committee or, if they cannot agree unanimously, an independent adjudicator. Where a local education authority proposes to establish a new secondary school they must publish details of the need for the school, inviting other promoters to submit proposals, and the Secretary of State for Education and Skills will decide which of the proposals submitted should be approved.

Sea Defences

Bob Spink: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what level of additional sea defences will be required as a
 
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result of the Government's growth plan for additional houses to be built between 2003 and 2016 in the Thames Gateway; and where these will be sited. [190739]

Keith Hill: Most of the Thames Estuary is already protected to a greater than 1:1000 year level (possibility of 0.1 per cent. of flooding in any one year) until 2030. This includes a generous allowance for future sea level rise until 2030 and is a far higher standard of protection than in most other parts of the UK. Growth in the Thames Gateway will be largely concentrated on previously developed land in existing urban area, reducing the requirement for additional flood defences.

The Environment Agency is currently carrying out a six-year study of flood risk management called 'Thames Estuary 2100'. This will consider the flood defences that will be needed to protect the Thames Estuary for the next century and where they will need to be sited. The Office of the Deputy Prime Minister is represented on the steering group to ensure that development does not restrict options arising from the study.

Redevelopment in the Thames Gateway provides the opportunity to deliver sustainable flood defences. Riverside walkways and green spaces can be used to accommodate occasional flooding as well as providing an attractive setting for development. Sustainable flood management will be integrated with plans for a green space network across the Thames Gateway as well as at locations of new developments, such as on the Greenwich Peninsula.

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