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Question put forthwith (Standing Order 31(2)), That the proposed words be there added.
The House divided: Ayes 276, Noes 217.
AYES
Abbott, Ms Diane
Ainger, Nick
Ainsworth, rh Mr. Bob
Alexander, rh Mr. Douglas
Anderson, Mr. David
Anderson, Janet
Atkins, Charlotte
Austin, Mr. Ian
Austin, John
Bailey, Mr. Adrian
Baird, Vera
Balls, rh Ed
Banks, Gordon
Barlow, Ms Celia
Barron, rh Mr. Kevin
Battle, rh John
Beckett, rh Margaret
Begg, Miss Anne
Bell, Sir Stuart
Benn, rh Hilary
Berry, Roger
Betts, Mr. Clive
Blackman, Liz
Blackman-Woods, Dr. Roberta
Blizzard, Mr. Bob
Blunkett, rh Mr. David
Borrow, Mr. David S.
Bradshaw, Mr. Ben
Brennan, Kevin
Brown, Lyn
Brown, rh Mr. Nicholas
Brown, Mr. Russell
Browne, rh Des
Bryant, Chris
Buck, Ms Karen
Burgon, Colin
Burnham, rh Andy
Butler, Ms Dawn
Byrne, rh Mr. Liam
Caborn, rh Mr. Richard
Cairns, David
Campbell, Mr. Alan
Campbell, Mr. Ronnie
Caton, Mr. Martin
Cawsey, Mr. Ian
Chapman, Ben
Chaytor, Mr. David
Clapham, Mr. Michael
Clark, Ms Katy
Clark, Paul
Clarke, rh Mr. Tom
Clelland, Mr. David
Clwyd, rh Ann
Coaker, Mr. Vernon
Coffey, Ann
Connarty, Michael
Cook, Frank
Cooper, Rosie
Cooper, rh Yvette
Corbyn, Jeremy
Cousins, Jim
Crausby, Mr. David
Cruddas, Jon
Cunningham, Mr. Jim
Cunningham, Tony
Darling, rh Mr. Alistair
David, Mr. Wayne
Davidson, Mr. Ian
Davies, Mr. Quentin
Denham, rh Mr. John
Devine, Mr. Jim
Dismore, Mr. Andrew
Dobbin, Jim
Dobson, rh Frank
Donohoe, Mr. Brian H.
Doran, Mr. Frank
Dowd, Jim
Drew, Mr. David
Eagle, Angela
Efford, Clive
Ellman, Mrs. Louise
Engel, Natascha
Ennis, Jeff
Farrelly, Paul
Fisher, Mark
Fitzpatrick, Jim
Flello, Mr. Robert
Flint, rh Caroline
Flynn, Paul
Foster, Michael Jabez (Hastings and Rye)
Francis, Dr. Hywel
Gardiner, Barry
George, rh Mr. Bruce
Gerrard, Mr. Neil
Gibson, Dr. Ian
Gilroy, Linda
Godsiff, Mr. Roger
Goggins, Paul
Goodman, Helen
Griffith, Nia
Griffiths, Nigel
Grogan, Mr. John
Gwynne, Andrew
Hain, rh Mr. Peter
Hall, Mr. Mike
Hall, Patrick
Hamilton, Mr. David
Hanson, rh Mr. David
Harman, rh Ms Harriet
Harris, Mr. Tom
Havard, Mr. Dai
Healey, rh John
Henderson, Mr. Doug
Hesford, Stephen
Hewitt, rh Ms Patricia
Heyes, David
Hill, rh Keith
Hodgson, Mrs. Sharon
Hood, Mr. Jim
Hope, Phil
Hopkins, Kelvin
Howarth, rh Mr. George
Howells, rh Dr. Kim
Hoyle, Mr. Lindsay
Hughes, rh Beverley
Humble, Mrs. Joan
Iddon, Dr. Brian
Ingram, rh Mr. Adam
Irranca-Davies, Huw
James, Mrs. Siân C.
Jenkins, Mr. Brian
Johnson, rh Alan
Jones, Helen
Jones, Mr. Kevan
Jones, Lynne
Jones, Mr. Martyn
Jowell, rh Tessa
Joyce, Mr. Eric
Kaufman, rh Sir Gerald
Keeble, Ms Sally
Keeley, Barbara
Keen, Alan
Keen, Ann
Kelly, rh Ruth
Kemp, Mr. Fraser
Kidney, Mr. David
Kilfoyle, Mr. Peter
Knight, rh Jim
Kumar, Dr. Ashok
Ladyman, Dr. Stephen
Laxton, Mr. Bob
Lazarowicz, Mark
Lepper, David
Levitt, Tom
Lewis, Mr. Ivan
Linton, Martin
Lloyd, Tony
Love, Mr. Andrew
Lucas, Ian
MacShane, rh Mr. Denis
Malik, Mr. Shahid
Mallaber, Judy
Mann, John
Marris, Rob
Marsden, Mr. Gordon
Marshall-Andrews, Mr. Robert
McAvoy, rh Mr. Thomas
McCabe, Steve
McCafferty, Chris
McCarthy, Kerry
McCarthy-Fry, Sarah
McDonagh, Siobhain
McFadden, rh Mr. Pat
McFall, rh John
McGovern, Mr. Jim
McGuire, rh Mrs. Anne
McIsaac, Shona
McKechin, Ann
McKenna, Rosemary
McNulty, rh Mr. Tony
Meacher, rh Mr. Michael
Merron, Gillian
Michael, rh Alun
Milburn, rh Mr. Alan
Miliband, rh Edward
Miller, Andrew
Moffat, Anne
Moffatt, Laura
Mole, Chris
Morden, Jessica
Morgan, Julie
Morley, rh Mr. Elliot
Mudie, Mr. George
Mullin, Mr. Chris
Munn, Meg
Murphy, rh Mr. Paul
Naysmith, Dr. Doug
Norris, Dan
O'Hara, Mr. Edward
Olner, Mr. Bill
Owen, Albert
Palmer, Dr. Nick
Pearson, Ian
Plaskitt, Mr. James
Prentice, Bridget
Prentice, Mr. Gordon
Prescott, rh Mr. John
Primarolo, rh Dawn
Purnell, rh James
Raynsford, rh Mr. Nick
Reed, Mr. Andy
Riordan, Mrs. Linda
Robertson, John
Robinson, Mr. Geoffrey
Rooney, Mr. Terry
Roy, Mr. Frank
Roy, Lindsay
Ruane, Chris
Ruddock, Joan
Russell, Christine
Ryan, rh Joan
Sarwar, Mr. Mohammad
Seabeck, Alison
Sharma, Mr. Virendra
Shaw, Jonathan
Sheerman, Mr. Barry
Sheridan, Jim
Simon, Mr. Siôn
Skinner, Mr. Dennis
Slaughter, Mr. Andy
Smith, rh Mr. Andrew
Smith, Ms Angela C. (Sheffield, Hillsborough)
Smith, Angela E. (Basildon)
Smith, Geraldine
Smith, rh Jacqui
Smith, John
Snelgrove, Anne
Soulsby, Sir Peter
Southworth, Helen
Spellar, rh Mr. John
Spink, Bob
Starkey, Dr. Phyllis
Stoate, Dr. Howard
Strang, rh Dr. Gavin
Sutcliffe, Mr. Gerry
Tami, Mark
Taylor, Ms Dari
Taylor, David
Taylor, Dr. Richard
Thomas, Mr. Gareth
Thornberry, Emily
Timms, rh Mr. Stephen
Tipping, Paddy
Todd, Mr. Mark
Touhig, rh Mr. Don
Trickett, Jon
Truswell, Mr. Paul
Turner, Dr. Desmond
Turner, Mr. Neil
Vis, Dr. Rudi
Walley, Joan
Waltho, Lynda
Wareing, Mr. Robert N.
Watson, Mr. Tom
Watts, Mr. Dave
Whitehead, Dr. Alan
Wicks, rh Malcolm
Williams, rh Mr. Alan
Williams, Mrs. Betty
Wills, rh Mr. Michael
Wilson, Phil
Wood, Mike
Woolas, Mr. Phil
Wright, Mr. Anthony
Wright, David
Wright, Dr. Tony
Tellers for the Ayes:
Claire Ward and
Ms Diana R. Johnson
NOES
Afriyie, Adam
Ainsworth, Mr. Peter
Ancram, rh Mr. Michael
Arbuthnot, rh Mr. James
Atkinson, Mr. Peter
Bacon, Mr. Richard
Baron, Mr. John
Barrett, John
Beith, rh Sir Alan
Bellingham, Mr. Henry
Benyon, Mr. Richard
Bercow, John
Binley, Mr. Brian
Blunt, Mr. Crispin
Bone, Mr. Peter
Boswell, Mr. Tim
Bottomley, Peter
Brady, Mr. Graham
Brake, Tom
Brazier, Mr. Julian
Breed, Mr. Colin
Brokenshire, James
Brooke, Annette
Browne, Mr. Jeremy
Browning, Angela
Burns, Mr. Simon
Burrowes, Mr. David
Burstow, Mr. Paul
Burt, Alistair
Burt, Lorely
Butterfill, Sir John
Cable, Dr. Vincent
Cameron, rh Mr. David
Carmichael, Mr. Alistair
Carswell, Mr. Douglas
Cash, Mr. William
Clappison, Mr. James
Clark, Greg
Clarke, rh Mr. Kenneth
Cox, Mr. Geoffrey
Davey, Mr. Edward
Davies, Mr. Dai
Davies, David T.C. (Monmouth)
Davies, Philip
Davis, rh David
Dodds, Mr. Nigel
Donaldson, rh Mr. Jeffrey M.
Dorrell, rh Mr. Stephen
Dorries, Nadine
Duddridge, James
Duncan, Alan
Duncan Smith, rh Mr. Iain
Dunne, Mr. Philip
Ellwood, Mr. Tobias
Evans, Mr. Nigel
Evennett, Mr. David
Fabricant, Michael
Fallon, Mr. Michael
Farron, Tim
Field, Mr. Mark
Foster, Mr. Don
Fox, Dr. Liam
Francois, Mr. Mark
Fraser, Christopher
Gale, Mr. Roger
Garnier, Mr. Edward
Gauke, Mr. David
George, Andrew
Gibb, Mr. Nick
Gidley, Sandra
Gillan, Mrs. Cheryl
Goodman, Mr. Paul
Goodwill, Mr. Robert
Gove, Michael
Gray, Mr. James
Green, Damian
Greening, Justine
Greenway, Mr. John
Grieve, Mr. Dominic
Gummer, rh Mr. John
Hague, rh Mr. William
Hammond, Mr. Philip
Hammond, Stephen
Hands, Mr. Greg
Harper, Mr. Mark
Harris, Dr. Evan
Harvey, Nick
Hayes, Mr. John
Heald, Mr. Oliver
Heath, Mr. David
Heathcoat-Amory, rh Mr. David
Hemming, John
Hendry, Charles
Herbert, Nick
Hoban, Mr. Mark
Hogg, rh Mr. Douglas
Hollobone, Mr. Philip
Holloway, Mr. Adam
Holmes, Paul
Horam, Mr. John
Howard, rh Mr. Michael
Howarth, David
Howarth, Mr. Gerald
Howell, John
Hughes, Simon
Huhne, Chris
Hunt, Mr. Jeremy
Hunter, Mark
Hurd, Mr. Nick
Jack, rh Mr. Michael
Jackson, Mr. Stewart
Jenkin, Mr. Bernard
Jones, Mr. David
Kennedy, rh Mr. Charles
Key, Robert
Kirkbride, Miss Julie
Knight, rh Mr. Greg
Laing, Mrs. Eleanor
Lait, Mrs. Jacqui
Lamb, Norman
Lancaster, Mr. Mark
Lansley, Mr. Andrew
Laws, Mr. David
Leech, Mr. John
Leigh, Mr. Edward
Letwin, rh Mr. Oliver
Lewis, Dr. Julian
Liddell-Grainger, Mr. Ian
Lidington, Mr. David
Lilley, rh Mr. Peter
Loughton, Tim
Luff, Peter
Mackay, rh Mr. Andrew
Main, Anne
Malins, Mr. Humfrey
Maples, Mr. John
Mason, John
Maude, rh Mr. Francis
May, rh Mrs. Theresa
McIntosh, Miss Anne
McLoughlin, rh Mr. Patrick
Miller, Mrs. Maria
Milton, Anne
Mitchell, Mr. Andrew
Moore, Mr. Michael
Mundell, David
Murrison, Dr. Andrew
Neill, Robert
Newmark, Mr. Brooks
O'Brien, Mr. Stephen
Öpik, Lembit
Osborne, Mr. George
Ottaway, Richard
Paice, Mr. James
Penning, Mike
Penrose, John
Pritchard, Mark
Randall, Mr. John
Redwood, rh Mr. John
Reid, Mr. Alan
Rennie, Willie
Robathan, Mr. Andrew
Robertson, Angus
Robertson, Hugh
Robertson, Mr. Laurence
Rogerson, Dan
Ruffley, Mr. David
Russell, Bob
Sanders, Mr. Adrian
Scott, Mr. Lee
Selous, Andrew
Shapps, Grant
Shepherd, Mr. Richard
Simmonds, Mark
Simpson, Mr. Keith
Smith, Sir Robert
Soames, Mr. Nicholas
Spelman, Mrs. Caroline
Spicer, Sir Michael
Spring, Mr. Richard
Stunell, Andrew
Swayne, Mr. Desmond
Swire, Mr. Hugo
Syms, Mr. Robert
Tapsell, Sir Peter
Taylor, Mr. Ian
Taylor, Matthew
Teather, Sarah
Thurso, John
Timpson, Mr. Edward
Tredinnick, David
Turner, Mr. Andrew
Tyrie, Mr. Andrew
Vaizey, Mr. Edward
Vara, Mr. Shailesh
Viggers, Sir Peter
Villiers, Mrs. Theresa
Walker, Mr. Charles
Wallace, Mr. Ben
Walter, Mr. Robert
Waterson, Mr. Nigel
Watkinson, Angela
Weir, Mr. Mike
Whittingdale, Mr. John
Willetts, Mr. David
Williams, Mr. Roger
Williams, Stephen
Willis, Mr. Phil
Willott, Jenny
Wilshire, Mr. David
Wilson, Mr. Rob
Wilson, Sammy
Wishart, Pete
Wright, Jeremy
Yeo, Mr. Tim
Young, rh Sir George
Younger-Ross, Richard
Tellers for the Noes:
Bill Wiggin and
Mr. Stephen Crabb
Question accordingly agreed to.
The Deputy Speaker declared the main Question, as amended, to be agreed to (Standing Order No. 31(2)).
That this House recognises the impact the international credit crunch is having across the world and for households and businesses in every region of the UK; supports the Government’s decisive action to stop the banking system collapsing, secure the sector’s role in supporting the economy, households and businesses and remove blocks to sustainable lending; notes the agreements made with Lloyds, RBS and Northern Rock to increase lending to individuals and firms; welcomes the action in line with other countries across the world to boost the economy this year and next with targeted support to people and businesses including the value added tax cut, helping homeowners avoid repossession, a range of measures to provide finance and defer tax liabilities for business, pensioner payments, increased child benefit and a tax cut of £145 for 22 million basic rate taxpayers; further notes the extra resources to support those facing redundancy and seeking work; further supports the bringing forward of capital projects to improve public services and infrastructure, and provide jobs now; further notes that the Government has set out measures to deliver sustainable public finances; further welcomes the Government’s leadership of the G20 and its focus on co-ordination between countries, equipping the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank with the resources and tools needed, and reform of global financial regulation; and further supports the Government taking action now to come through stronger and faster so that the UK can take advantage of the world recovery.
Business without Debate
Delegated Legislation
Mr. Deputy Speaker (Sir Alan Haselhurst): With the leave of the House, I shall take motions 3 to 7 together.
Motion made, and Question put forthwith (Standing Order No. 118(6)),
That the draft Renewable Transport Fuels Obligations (Amendment) Order 2009, which was laid before this House on 9 February, be approved.
That the draft Financial Assistance Scheme and Incapacity Benefit (Miscellaneous Amendments) Regulations 2009, which were laid before this House on 11 February, be approved.
That the draft Renewables Obligation Order 2009, which was laid before this House on 11 February, be approved.
That the draft European Parliamentary Elections (Northern Ireland) (Amendment) Regulations 2009, which were laid before this House on 25 February, be approved.
That the draft European Parliamentary Elections (Amendment) (No. 2) Regulations 2009, which were laid before this House on 10 March, be approved. — (Barbara Keeley.)
Ford Eco-town
Motion made, and Question proposed, That this House do now adjourn. —(Barbara Keeley.)
7.27 pm
Nick Herbert (Arundel and South Downs) (Con): I am grateful for this opportunity to raise the question of the proposed eco-town at Ford, which would lie in my constituency and should it be given the go-ahead, in the constituency of my hon. Friend the Member for Bognor Regis and Littlehampton (Mr. Gibb). It is a proposal for 5,000 new houses, and the size of that development means that the settlement would dwarf any of the existing settlements in my very rural constituency of Arundel and South Downs.
I have three key concerns about this proposal, which are widely shared by the local community and by the elected local authorities. The concerns are: the impact on the countryside and the rural character of the area; whether we have adequate infrastructure to support development on this scale; and the democratic issue—whether there is consent, whether people are being properly consulted and who should decide where development should go.
First, I shall talk about the impact on the countryside. I do not know whether the Minister has been to this part of the world, but Ford is a tiny village that lies in the Arun valley, below Arundel, which is a stunning location sited on the edge of the south downs. The Ford eco-town would be very close to an area of outstanding natural beauty and potentially a national park if the Government were to give it the go-ahead. Were an eco-town, effectively a new town of 5,000 houses, to be located at that site, it would clearly dwarf the existing hamlet of Ford and effectively join up small villages including Yapton and Climping. It would create what would amount to a new sprawl of development that would not just include the eco-town itself but begin to join the existing villages. At a stroke, open countryside would have been transformed into a suburban setting. That is unacceptable.
I was immensely concerned by how the developers sought to promote the development by arguing in their initial literature that it would be on a brownfield site. Yes, an airfield forms part of the site, but in fact 87 per cent. of the construction would be on greenfield land. The Government’s own sustainability appraisal identified a number of key weaknesses in the Ford eco-town proposal, including the fact that the site is almost entirely greenfield and that there would be building on high-grade agricultural land—at a time, by the way, when we should probably be increasing food production in our country and worried about food security. The appraisal also stated that
“although the area is not designated there is still a potential to change the setting and character of local villages”
such as those I have mentioned.
The flood risk also needs to be addressed, and the Government acknowledged that, too, as a key weakness in their sustainability appraisal. The appraisal acknowledges that, as a coastal area, Arun district is
“likely to experience some of the most severe impacts due to climate change”,
and that there is a particular risk to ground water supplies. In an era when we have to be concerned about climate change, those should be serious concerns.
The second category of objections that I wish to raise are those related to infrastructure. The developers originally told us that they would be able to spend £200 million on improving local infrastructure, of which, I should emphasise, we already have a significant deficit. We have very congested roads, including the A27, which is meant to be a coastal highway but is in fact a coastal car park. It is congested at key times, which I believe contributes significantly to the relative deprivation of Littlehampton and other coastal areas. Frankly, despite their proximity to London, the poor transport links of those areas have made them unable to share in the economic gains that other areas in the south-east have made in recent decades.
It is that absence of adequate infrastructure, even with the current level of housing, that is of particular concern to local authorities. Clearly an additional 5,000 houses would create a huge challenge, for instance through the additional cars on the roads, even if it is supposed that a proportion of those cars would not be used because of the nature of the eco-town proposal. I make no general comment on eco-towns; I am making site-specific objections to the Ford proposal.
The reality is that even in a city such as Brighton two thirds of households use cars, and that is in a city that is reputed to have exceptionally low car use. In my rural constituency there is 85 to 90 per cent. car ownership, and those who do not have cars are significantly disadvantaged. They cannot get about in rural West Sussex, even if they live in villages that are served by railway stations. I do not believe that the existence of a railway station at Ford—there is a question about whether it needs to be moved—is adequate mitigation against the loss of access that people would suffer if a new town were sited in the middle of the countryside, from where it is frankly unrealistic to expect them to be able to get around except by car. That is a major flaw in this particular scheme.
The Arundel bypass has been awaited for decades. At one stage, it was about to be put in the Government’s programme, but it is now a distant prospect, which will not even start until 2016. According to West Sussex county council, the indications are that the bypass is being pushed back, not forwards. There is a genuine question about whether the eco-town would be viable without a bypass around Arundel, given all the additional traffic that it would generate. There is also a conflict between the Government’s advisers, who said that it would be wrong to build a bypass, and the developers, who originally said that one would and should be built and that they would provide money for it. Now they say that the eco-town does not depend on the bypass.
It is impossible to conceive of siting a new settlement of 5,000 people without that upgrade in the key local road. It would mean major traffic congestion in the villages and in Arundel. That is a severe flaw in the scheme. Will the Government tell us whether plans for the Arundel bypass will be brought forward as part of the proposal for the eco-town?
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