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This very long process started in 2005 with the submission being put on deposit for six months. Evidence was then taken for 14 weeks from 98 organisations. Then the panel made a series of visits around the region, as I presume that the panel knew nothing about the region to begin with. Then there were revisions. The Government then had about eight or nine months to comment on the
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revisions. We are now in a period of consultation on the Government’s response. Changes will then be made. Finally, another eight-week period of consultation will take place. I apologise to the House if I have missed out a stage in the process, because it is labyrinthine in the extreme. I am not sure how the public or their elected representatives are supposed to engage in it.

After all the drafts, counter-drafts, evidence and deliberation, the document has ended up being extremely damaging to my constituency and my constituents in a number of ways. First, on housing, which other Members have mentioned, the figures in the document would allow a couple of hundred houses each year to be built in Durham from now until 2021. We have independent planning inspectors’ reports showing that, because of the backlog in the provision of affordable housing in Durham, about 500 units a year are needed just to catch up.

It being Six o’clock, the motion for the Adjournment of the House lapsed, without Question put.

Motion made, and Question proposed, That this House do now adjourn.— [Tony Cunningham.]

Dr. Blackman-Woods: The allowances would not enable us to deal with the backlog. The underlying message is that the Government do not consider County Durham to be worthy of growth, but it is an environment where there should be growth.

The second issue that I want to raise is that of the Tursdale rail freight depot. After many years, we have a developer who has experience across the country of providing rail freight depots and who wants to develop one at Tursdale. That has been taken out of the regional spatial strategy as a potential opportunity apparently because it will get in the way of the development of the ports of Tyne and Tees. However, extensive arguments have been made to suggest that they are complementary developments. There is not necessarily any competition between the two, but the Government have not taken that on board.

The third issue that I want to raise is that of NETPark. It is not in my constituency but it provides the space for the spin-out companies from Durham university, which is in my constituency. We know from the regional economic strategy and its action plan that the Government and One NorthEast want to develop a knowledge base as the basis for future economic development in the region. Durham university and its spin-out companies will be critical to that. Yet the development of NETPark will be capped. Not only does that not make any sense, but there seems to be no alignment of the regional spatial strategy and the regional economic strategy. That also sends out a very damaging message. We are trying to raise aspirations in County Durham and get our young people jobs in the knowledge sector, yet they are being denied that by the document. That is not acceptable.

My last point relates to sustainability. It is important that we mean what we say in our rhetoric and develop sustainable communities. That means having employment bases that are close to our communities and not dragging everybody in County Durham either north to the Tyneside area or south to Teesside to get employment. The transport network for that does not exist and there is nothing in the document to develop it. Crucially, we
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must take the environmental concerns on board and develop economic bases close to communities when that is possible.

If ever there was an argument in favour of unitary government in County Durham, this is it. We must have unitary local government so that we can have a strong voice, play our card effectively in the region and ensure that the needs of County Durham and its constituents are well heard by the Government. I want to hear what the Minister has to say about needing a regional policy from the Government, so that they start investing seriously in the north-east to give all our young people and workers secure and good jobs for the future.

6.4 pm

The Minister for Local Government (Mr. Phil Woolas): Congratulations are due to my hon. Friend the Member for Bishop Auckland (Helen Goodman) on securing the debate at a timely point, as I think the right hon. Member for Berwick-upon-Tweed (Mr. Beith) described it.

The Government of course share the ambition for the north-east region and have a proud record in investment and in improving its economic prosperity. The test, however, is for us not only to improve gross value added in the north-east, but to narrow the gap between the north-east and the rest of the country. We could achieve that goal by reducing the GVA for the rest of the country, but having discussed the possibility, we decided that it was not appropriate. The setting of that test presents us with a real challenge. I know my hon. Friend agrees that it would be unfortunate and unfair if the successes of the region were diminished by the difficulty of the test that we have set ourselves.

The timeliness of the planning of the House’s business has ensured that a wide range of opinion has been expressed from across the region, both geographically and politically. I never thought I would hear my hon. Friend the Member for North Durham (Mr. Jones) and the right hon. Member for Berwick-upon-Tweed unite in describing a process as a Stalinist conspiracy.

Mr. Beith: Soviet-style.

Mr. Woolas: A Soviet-style Stalinist conspiracy.

As the Members who have spoken reflect the whole region geographically and politically, it is particularly important for the Government to take account of what has been said. I congratulate Members on raising these issues.

I am happy to set out the background to the regional spatial strategy, the current state of play and the next steps in producing a final version for publication by the Secretary of State. However, my hon. Friends and, I hope, Opposition Members will appreciate that because of the nature of the process I am constrained in what I can say at this stage. The propriety guidance provides that once a regional spatial strategy revision has been submitted for examination, Ministers and their officials ought not to enter into discussions with interested parties on the changes that may be made.
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The purpose is to ensure that the process is fair and transparent by channelling representations on a draft revision through the examination in public and the statutory consultation process.

The House is, of course, the forum for debate on emerging Government policy, and I have the opportunity to set the process before it. I hope that Members will understand, however, that I cannot answer specific points about the regional spatial strategy. Suffice it to say that at this stage the Government have not accepted the recommendations on large sites or affordable housing. As for the number of houses, the Government are seeking feedback through consultation. I think it is clear what the feedback from Members will be.

We published regional planning guidance note 1 for the north-east region in November 2002. Subsequent legislation—the Planning and Compulsory Purchase Act 2004—strengthened the role and importance of regional planning. That was of course a devolution of powers from the centre to the region, although Members and their constituents often see it as a sucking up of powers from the local area to the region.

Mr. Beith: I understand the Minister’s difficulty, but perhaps he can clarify one point. Can he assure us that if an elected assembly in the region decided that the north-east needed more houses in general—this is, as the Minister says, a devolution of powers—central Government would respond, “That is for you to decide. We will consider the plan in the normal way”?

Mr. Woolas: Broadly, the answer to that question is yes, that is the purpose. However, I would not, of course, want to give a specific commitment on numbers or the outline. I think that the right hon. Gentleman will be reassured by what I have to say on the process.

The September 2004 RSS remains in effect. Its purpose is to set out a broad development strategy for the region for the period up to 2021. I acknowledge that the process that is being gone through is often described as laborious, but the RSS is an important document. It is part of the statutory development plan under the 2004 Act. Local planning authorities prepare the other components of the development plan, the local development frameworks, which must be in general conformity with the RSS. Therefore, this affects not only regional policy, but the LDFs of local authorities. The regional transport strategy is also incorporated.

The North East assembly is constituted as the regional planning body for the purposes of the Act. In June 2005, the assembly submitted a draft revision of the current RSS to the Secretary of State. A public consultation on the draft revision was held from July to October 2005. Various parties made representations, and the strategy was tested at an examination in public in March and April 2006.

The panel’s report broadly endorsed the growth scenarios and spatial strategy in the draft revision. It also made numerous recommendations for changes to the strategy, which have been taken into account in deciding on the proposed changes. The Secretary of State’s proposed changes to the draft revision were published on 29 May for public consultation. The panel raised concerns over three matters in particular, and because they have had implications for the
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consultation process, I shall outline them and the response that we have made in each case.

First, the panel said that it was not persuaded that the transport proposals set out in the submission draft reflected the proper balance, or that the priorities for investment set out could be justified, and it recommended that the Government review them. In light of that, we have prepared a revised version of that material in the section of the RSS that deals with transport. That new material was based on the outcome of the regional funding allocations exercises.

Secondly, the panel recommended that further consideration should be given to the district housing allocations for Easington, Sedgefield and Blyth valley, with a view to ensuring that they were consistent with the locational strategy and the panel’s conclusions and recommendations on the de-allocation and urban capacity study assessments. In view of the importance of the issue, we asked the panel for further clarification on this view, and it suggests in its addendum report that the assembly should be asked to review its forecasts in the light of that analysis.

Mr. Kevan Jones: How does what the Minister has described is proposed on housing in County Durham fit with what the Government are trying to do nationally, and with County Durham funding from English Partnerships for village regeneration and the possibility of new housing for villages in County Durham? How does all that fit together if we still have an artificial figure, as national Government are paying for something with taxpayers’ money at one level and at the local level things are prevented from happening?

Mr. Woolas: That is precisely one of the questions that will be given consideration—or, more precisely, the answer to it will be given consideration. That is illustrative of both the complex nature of the decisions and the importance of them. Suffice it to say that it would be a retrograde step if there were no regional input. That may be achieved in other ways, and my hon. Friend makes his views known with characteristic clarity, but some consideration at that level is important.

The panel recommended including a proposal that changes be made to policies 19 and 20 of the submission draft. In English, those changes would have the effect of constraining the development of certain major employment sites and deleting policy references
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to others. We considered that, before making final decisions on the recommendation, it would assist the Secretary of State to have further information on the local circumstances. Consultees have therefore been invited to supply information on matters relevant to aspects that the panel have recommended be changed. I hope that my hon. Friend the Member for Bishop Auckland welcomes that acknowledgement. We anticipate that many stakeholders will wish to comment on the proposed changes, and they have been widely circulated.

As we announced in both Houses on 24 May, we have decided that in the light of the requests for supplementary material we should carry out a two-stage consultation. In the first and current stage, we are consulting on the proposed changes now being put forward. That stage will last for 10 weeks. Following that, Ministers will consider the material that they receive, and will then hold a further consultation, to last eight weeks, to give all concerned an opportunity to consider any further changes that may have been made as a result. Following the consultation, the Secretary of State, having considered the representations, will then approve and publish the final version.

It will be clear from the approach that we have adopted that we are seeking both views and further information before reaching our conclusions. Indeed, there will be a further opportunity for all concerned to consider, and comment on, further proposed changes that may be made as a result of the first consultation. That has of course extended the timetable, and I appreciate the frustration that my hon. Friend the Member for City of Durham (Dr. Blackman-Woods) expressed.

I hope that I have convinced hon. Members first of the importance that we place on the economic success and growth of the north-east; secondly, that we are aware of the concerns of hon. Members which have been raised during the first phase of the consultation and are therefore timely; and, thirdly, that we are committed to our goal of narrowing the gap between the north-east and the rest of the country and that this policy area is a crucial means to that end.

I congratulate my hon. Friend the Member for Bishop Auckland on securing the debate and I look forward to the further deliberations on this matter.

Question put and agreed to.

Adjourned accordingly at seventeen minutes past Six o’clock.


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