§ 29. Mr. Worsleyasked the Secretary of State for the Environment whether he will amend the Use Classes Order so that planning permission would be required for a change of use from a shop to a restaurant or café.
§ Mr. Graham PageRepresentations to this effiect have been considered and discussions have taken place with interested organisations; we hope soon to reach conclusions which will be incorporated in an order.
§ Mr. WorsleyDoes my hon. Friend appreciate that the discussions on this subject have been going on for a very 1332 long time, under both the previous Government and this Government? Can he give an undertaking that a decision will be reached by the end of this year?
§ Mr. PageI hope it will. I appreciate that the discussions have been going on for a long time. The matter is tied up with the revisions of the General Development Order, and we do not want to make piecemeal announcements about these reforms.
Mr. Bob BrownI support what has been said by the hon. Member for Chelsea (Mr. Worsley). The discussions have been interminable. Will the hon. Gentleman make a decision rapidly, otherwise I shall have more chop suey shops than bus shelters in my constituency?
§ Mr. PageI would not say that the discussions have been interminable. We have had consultations with the local authority associations and with the trade, and I hope that we shall come to a decision soon.
§ Sir D. Walker-SmithI do not dissent from the thought underlying this Question, but will my hon. Friend make it clear that the mere amendment of the Use Classes Order would not automatically make an application for planning permission obligatory, which, following a long line of decisions in the Court of Appeal, would be a matter of fact and degree in the circumstances of each case.
§ Mr. PageI am grateful to my right hon. and learned Friend. What he said merely shows how many consultations one must have on these difficult problems.