§ 2.44 p.m.
§ Baroness YoungMy Lords, I beg leave to ask the Question which stands in my name on the Order Paper.
§ The Question was as follows:
§ To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they intend to hold a public inquiry into the proposal to build a fourth terminal at Heathrow airport.
§ The PARLIAMENTARY UNDER-SECRETARY of STATE, DEPARTMENT of the ENVIRONMENT (Baroness Birk)My Lords, the British Airports Authority have consulted the local authorities concerned about the proposed fourth terminal at Heathrow and, in the light of the views being received from them, my right honourable friend the Secretary of State for the Environment is considering whether there should be a Direction under Article 4 of the General Development Order. A Direction would make the BAA's present proposal the subject of 553 normal planning control and would be an essential first step towards any statutory public planning inquiry.
§ Baroness YOUNGMy Lords, I thank the noble Baroness for that reply. Can she say how many local authorities were consulted in regard to this development and when she expects a decision to be reached as to whether or not they might expect to have a public inquiry?
§ Baroness BIRKMy Lords, the following local authorities were consulted: Surrey County Council, Spelthorne Borough Council, the London Borough Council of Hounslow, the Greater London Council and the London Borough Council of Hillingdon. We are still awaiting the views of the London Borough Council of Hillingdon, which have not yet been received by my Department and after that the Secretary of State will be able to make his decision.
§ Baroness YOUNGMy Lords, is the noble Baroness not aware that the complexities of a fourth terminal at Heathrow reach much further than the four authorities she has just named, and should not the Department of the Environment be consulting on a much wider scale than that mentioned because of the noise nuisance, the increasing numbers of the population that will be required to service the terminal and the other infrastructure required?
§ Baroness BIRKMy Lords, the consultation went very much wider than that and indeed the BAA itself went much wider, but the noble Baroness asked me to name the actual local authorities and that is why I restricted my answer. If an Article 4 Direction is made and a public inquiry is held, as the noble Baroness is aware, it will be wide open for any sort of comments and views to be put to it.
§ Baroness EMMET of AMBERLEYMy Lords, may I ask the Minister to give us an assurance that, if there is to be a fourth terminal at Heathrow, a more practical architect will be employed to build it than was employed when the third terminal was built?—because it is totally impracticable for people arriving from far distances.
§ Baroness BIRKMy Lords, I think that that is one of the points that would have to be considered after the first decision is made and it would be quite improper for me to go into the merits of it at the moment.