§ Mr. KeyTo ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions for what reason he has not issued a decision letter in respect of the public inquiries into proposed development at Otterburn Army training estate. [148431]
§ Ms Beverley HughesThe hon. Member may be aware that the Courts have given leave for judicial review in relation to development proposed by the Home Office at Aldington in Kent, which involves a challenge to DOE Circular 18–84 procedures for the development of Crown land. These are the same procedures as have been used by the Ministry of Defence to seek approval for the proposed development at Otterburn in Northumberland. The grounds of challenge are that the procedures are non-compliant with Article 6 of the European Convention on Human Rights. It is unlikely that I shall be in a position to reach a final decision on Otterburn before the Aldington case comes to Court this month. I shall then need to consider how to proceed in the light of the Aldington judgment.
In the meantime, I am arranging for various exchanges of correspondence on this issue to be copied to the parties to the Otterburn inquiry for their information.