§ Mr. Staintonasked the Secretary of State for the Environment, in view of the increasingly widespread use being made by planning authorities of voluntary section 52 agreements under the Town and Country Planning Act 1971 and of the fact that planning applicants are often ignorant of the rights thereby ceded, if he will, by circular, advise all authorities that proposals for such agreements should be accompanied by a plain language rendering of this section in recommended form.
§ Mr. Giles ShawMisunderstandings are best avoided by taking professional advice before entering into such an agreement. We will, however, consider whether it would be useful to issue general advice on section 52 agreements when consultations have been completed on the report of the property advisory group on planning gain.
§ Mr. Patrick McNair-Wilsonasked the Secretary of State for the Environment whether he will make it his practice, when considering planning applications he has called in, to ascertain to what extent existing statutory restrictions on the use of the land concerned may be involved.
§ Mr. Giles ShawAs I have explained today to my hon. Friend in relation to the current New Forest case, planning permission, if granted, does not override any other legal constraints there might be on the development of the land in question. My right hon. Friend does not therefore propose to make any changes to current practice.