§ Mr. WylieI beg to move Amendment No. 5, in page 6, line 37, at beginning insert:
Subject to the provisions of subsection (6) of this section.The subsection as it stands is not very happily worded. I think the Minister of State recognised that in Committee. This Amendment, which I do not suggest is necessary, could help to get the provisions 1562 of the subsection into better perspective since it seeks to draw attention to the paramount duty in action areas.Subsection (6) says:
Where an area is indicated as an action area in a structure plan which has been approved by the Secretary of State, the local planning authority shall (if they have not already done so) as soon as practicable after the approval of the plan prepare a local plan for that area.That is a positive proposal which to some extent conflicts with the wide discretion which subsection (2) leaves to the local authority. As it stands the general provision is that the authority has only to consider the desirability of preparing a local plan. It would be better to draw attention at the outset to the mandatory decisions in subsection (6) thereby qualifying in one subsection the general provisions.I do not suggest that the Amendment is necessary, but it could be rather helpful.
§ Dr. Dickson MabonI agree that it is not necessary to make this Amendment. I do not dissent from the fact that getting on with the planning of action areas once they are approved in principle is important, but the addition of these words would add nothing to the requirements in the Bill and someone might ask why subsection (6) should be so singled out. There are provisions throughout Clause 6 to which subsection (2) is subject. If we put these words in they would have no additional effect and they are not necessary. I do not dissent from the importance of what is meant by the two subsections taken together.
§ Mr. WylieI certainly do not want to press this Amendment. The subsection requires local authorities to consider the desirability of preparing local plans. They do not have to prepare local plans, but in subsection (6) they are told that if action areas come into the picture they will prepare a local plan for that area. To that extent subsection (2) is particularly qualified by the provisions of subsection (6). I do not press the Amendment and, as the Minister does not want it, I beg to ask leave to withdraw it.
§ Amendment, by leave, withdrawn.
1563§ Mr. Deputy Speaker (Mr. Harry Gourlay)With this Amendment it might be convenient also to discuss Amendment No. 8: In line 42, at end insert:
'affected by the structure plan'.
§ Mr. WylieI do not think these Amendments make sense without Amendment No. 7: In line 39, leave out from 'practicable' to 'prepare' in line 41.
The whole purpose is to make clear that where a structure plan impinges on an area there is a duty to prepare a local plan for at least that part of the area affected by the structure plan. The effect of these Amendments would be to make the subsection read:
Where a structure plan for their district has been approved by the Secretary of State, the local planning authority shall as soon as reasonably practicable prepare a local plan for any part of the district covered by the structure plan.That is a clear duty.The whole wording of the subsection is exceedingly complicated. It says that
the local planning authority shall as soon as practical consider, and thereafter keep under review, the desirability of preparing and, if they consider it desirable and they have not already done so, shall prepare a local plan, for any part of the district.I do not think that it could be said that the wording is satisfactory.Our complaint in Committee and now is directed more to the substance of the provision than to its wording. If the structure plan affects a local authority's district or part of it, it should be under an obligation to prepare a local plan for it. A local plan would be prepared if the need for it arose. The need would arise if a part of the area was affected by the structure plan. It would be better to face the facts and impose a duty on the local authority to prepare a structure plan in those circumstances.
In Committee the Minister argued that if the structure plan does not affect a part of an area there is no point in ordering a local authority to prepare a structure plan. That was a valid point of criticism on previous Amendments, but it does not arise on these Amendments because the duty is being confined to the situation where the structure plan affects a part of the district. In those special circumstances a clear duty should be imposed on the local authority to prepare a local plan.
1564 This is all the more important in view of the general nature of the structure plan. If local authorities are not to follow up the structure plan provisions with local plans I do not think that the public will benefit from this change, in the system of planning. This is not an important Amendment, but subsection (2) should be changed in a way which makes it clear that the local authority has a duty to prepare a local plan where any part of its district is affected by the structure plan.
§ Dr. Dickson MabonI recognise that without Amendment No. 7 it is a little difficult to read Amendments Nos. 6 and 7 together. I accept that Amendments Nos. 6 and 8 avoid the position which arose in Committee. The hon. and learned Gentleman acknowledged that the argument used in Committee cannot be used now, because it is now proposed that the local plan must be prepared "as soon as practicable" for the full area covered by the structure plan. For reasons of exposition or comprehensiveness, a structure plan may well extend over a considerable area including considerable tracts of country in which no early change is foreseen. Under the provision as proposed to be amended it could be argued that these areas were "affected by the structure plan" and that therefore local plans would have to be prepared.
We are back again to the question of the destruction of all sense of priority. In Committee I argued that the retention of a sense of priority was absolutely essential. The Clause is perfectly rational. It seeks to provide that local plans must be prepared as soon as practicable for action areas and for any other areas specified by the Secretary of State or where the local planning authority considers it desirable. This concentrates the priorities and gives attention to those areas.
In the light of the criticisms which were made, I reconsidered the Clause. Although rude remarks were made about it, its intention is successful and I advise the House not to accept either of the Amendments.
§ Mr. WylieThe Minister of State is much more satisfied now with the wording of the Clause than he was in Committee. As hon. Members will see from 1565 c. 182 of the OFFICIAL REPORT, he recognised that it was far from satisfactory and expressed a willingness to tighten up the phraseology. But he went on to say that he did not wish to rob the subsection of its meaning. "I cannot do everything at once", he says. He is perhaps being unduly modest. He does quite a lot all at once, as far as I can see.
I do not feel like withdrawing the Amendment. I would rather have it negatived. We cannot let the Clause stand without some kind of protest.
§ Amendment negatived.