§ 59. Mr. Buxtonasked the Minister of Transport whether he will give a general direction in the public interest to the British Railways Board that whenever possible they should respect the wishes of local authorities in matters of planning control and work in co-ordination with them on matters of railway land usage, even though they possess exemption from planning control under Schedule 1, Class XVII, of the Town and Country General Development Order, 1963.
§ Mr. Tom FraserNo, Sir. There are standing arrangements under which the British Railways Board consults the local planning authorities informally before embarking on development permitted by the Order. I understand that these arrangements work satisfactorily and that the Board does what it can to meet the wishes of local authorities.
§ Mr. BuxtonIs the right hon. Gentle. man aware that there are many offensive and unsuitably sited industries which exist under the umbrella of railway planning exempt ions? In this connection the Minister knows of the case in Leyton about which I wrote to him. Will he take some action on this?
§ Mr. FraserI understand that in that case the council was satisfied ultimately with the discussions it had with the Railways Board.
§ Mr. SpeakerSupplementary questions are getting longer. If they were shorter we should have more supplementary questions. The Prime Minister.
§ Sir M. RedmayneOn a point of order. I apologise to the Prime Minister—but although Ministers and the Opposition have made intensive efforts to get through Questions at a wild gallop this afternoon we have still got through only two-thirds of the transport Questions. Will the Leader of the House note that in the new roster after the Christmas Recess more time should be given to Questions on transport?
§ Mr. SpeakerThat is not a matter for me.