§ 6. Mr. Walker-Smithasked the Minister of Town and Country Planning whether he is satisfied that the procedure of Section 17 of the Town and Country Planning Act, 1947, is in all respects appropriate for deciding whether operations and changes of use require a planning permission.
§ Mr. DaltonAccording to my information, this procedure is working reasonably well, but if the hon. Member will send me any evidence to the contrary. I shall be glad to look into it.
§ Mr. Walker-SmithDoes the Minister appreciate that, generally speaking, questions under Section 17 are those involving interpretation of law? Does he think that the present procedure is best qualified for dealing with these matters?
§ Mr. DaltonWe often get on more quickly by consulting the local authorities on the matter, because they are the planning authorities, rather than by elaborate legal inquiries. On the whole, the local authorities apply common sense to these problems. I repeat that if the hon. Gentleman can give me any real evidence that the procedure is not working well, I will look into it.
§ Mr. Walker-SmithWill the Minister accept as real evidence a case in which 6 his Department has failed to come to a decision on Section 17 more than a year after the argument was heard?
§ Mr. DaltonI would like to see that question before me so that I may see whether the facts are as stated.