§ 17. Mr. Simon Burns (West Chelmsford)If he will make a statement on future housebuilding in the Chelmsford local authority area. [116159]
§ The Minister for Housing and Planning(Mr. Nick Raynsford)An illustrative breakdown of future housing provision within the south-east region, including an annual rate of provision for the county of Essex, was published for consultation with the proposed changes to the draft regional planning guidance on 27 March. Once finalised, it will be for the Essex county structure plan to determine the level of house building in the Chelmsford local plan area.
§ Mr. BurnsWill the Minister confirm that that fudge by his right hon. Friend the Secretary of State means that there will be about 1,200 extra houses a year in Essex? Will he also confirm that his past statements on the Government's commitment to the green belt were sincere? If the answer is yes, what does he think of Liberal Democrat-controlled Chelmsford borough council's preferred option of building possibly 2,500 houses in greenbelt land in the village of Margaretting in the local authority area?
§ Mr. RaynsfordThe hon. Gentleman has got his figures wrong. The annual average for housebuilding in Essex under the existing south-east regional planning committee arrangement is 6,383 homes per year. The average number of homes built throughout the 1990s was 5,770, and the illustrative proposals that we sent out on 27 March, to which I have just referred, suggests that an 808 average of 5,420 should be built. Therefore, it is simply not true that we are imposing an increase on existing Serplan arrangements, or on current levels of building.
§ Mr. RaynsfordI turn now to the green belt, which the Government are committed to protecting and extending, and whose area we have increased by some 30,000 hectares. There is a presumption against development in the green belt, which will be overruled only in exceptional circumstances.
We have a quasi-judicial role in relation to individual planning inquiries, so the hon. Gentleman will understand that I cannot comment on a matter that might come before my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State. However, I reaffirm our commitment to the defence of the green belt.