§ Mr. BeggsTo ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland if he will require the Department of the Environment planning service to ensure that all land in housing development sites will be allocated to house property and that developers will no longer be permitted to abandon and leave derelict any area of land within a housing development.
§ Mr. Tim SmithThe Department of the Environment (NI) considers that, where circumstances permit, the provision of open space in new housing development is desirable. However, the Department recognises that the on-going maintenance of such open space can cause difficulties and normal practice is now only to make its provision a requirement of planning permission where future maintenance arrangements can be put in place.