§ Baroness Nicolasked Her Majesty's Government:
What actions English Partnerships have taken to contribute towards the United Kingdom sustainable development strategy and the biodiversity action plan as referred to in the document English Partnerships—Improving our Environment. [HL194]
§ Lord WhittyThe UK Strategy for Sustainable Development, as published in 1994, identifies the key role of English Partnerships in the reclamation and re-use of vacant and derelict land which can help to reduce the pressure to build on greenfield sites and the agency's statutory guidance states that, in carrying out its activities, it should pay full regard to the Government's overall sustainable development strategy.
The agency has developed policies and published good practice guides promoting good quality design, using innovative and sustainable methods and has been a vocal proponent of mixed use development, through its Making Places handbook. Some examples of action and involvement from English Partnerships in this area include: undertaking the redevelopment of a significant area of the Greenwich peninsula, to re-use a previously contaminated site incorporating many innovative sustainable techniques in developing the mixed use Millennium Village, the first of a number of such planned developments; working as a major partner in the English Environment Fund, which seeks to maximise, through an environmental trust mechanism, the re-use of landfill tax receipts for environmental projects; taking forward business plans for the comprehensive regeneration of its 2,206-hectare portfolio of former British Coal sites across England, with a further package of sites in the pipeline; supporting the work of the Urban Task Force in developing a national land use database of brownfield sites which will inform the beneficial re-use of brownfield sites, particularly in connection with the siting of future housing; working with my own department, the private sector and others to establish a network of remediation test sites under the research programme CLAIRE (Contaminated Land in Real Environments).
English Partnerships is also finalising new internal guidance on its overall policy in connection with environmental matters, including on development proposals affecting SSSIs.