§ Mr. ShersbyTo ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will list in theOfficial Report the occasions since 1971 when he or his predecessors have called in a local plan under the provisions currently set out in section 14A of the Town and Country Planning Act 1971 giving details of the plans concerned and the decision recorded in each case.
§ Mr. HowardSince 1971 the following local plans have been called in by the Secretary of State under section 14(3) of the Town and Country Planning Act 1971 or section 14A(1) of that Act as substituted by the Housing and Planning Act 1986:
Date of call-in Title of plan Decision 20 February 1985 Berwick upon Tweed Town Local Plan Approved with modifications 28 January 1986 North Southwark Local Plan Rejected 23 September 1987 Wimbledon Town Centre Local Plan Approved with modifications 13 June 1989 Environment and Traffic on the A205 Local Plan (LB Lewisham) Still before the Secretary of State A further eight local plans prepared by former metropolitan county councils were called in in 1986 to enable them to be taken forward to approval following the abolition of the counties.
§ Mr. ShersbyTo ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if the failure of a local planning authority to implement a key recommendation of his inspector, following a local plan inquiry, constitutes grounds for him calling in the plans.
§ Mr. MoynihanAuthorities are not obliged to accept the inspector's recommendations following a local plan public inquiry, but failure to do so could constitute grounds for intervention by the Secretary of State.
§ Mr. ShersbyTo ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what criteria he adopts in deciding whether or not to call in a local plan in accordance with the provisions of section 14A of the Town and Country Planning Act 1971.
§ Mr. MoynihanThe Government's policy on calling in local plans is set out in the memorandum on structure and 251W local plans accompanying DOE circular 22/84. This states that the Secretary of State's call-in power will be used only in a limited range of circumstances where central Government intervention is clearly justified—for instance, where the plan raises issues of national or regional importance or where the plan gives rise to substantial controversy.