§ 69. Mr. John H. Osbornasked the Secretary of State for the Environment whether he will now hold a public inquiry into suitable caravan sites in the North Midlands and, in particular, South Yorkshire; and if he will now call in for consideration by himself the application by the Sheffield City Council and the South Yorkshire County Council for a 570W site at Redmires, Lodge Moor, which is also within the area covered by the Peak Park Planning Board, in view of the advice of the South Yorkshire Planning Officer recommending refusal of the application.
§ Mr. John SilkinResponsibility for the provision of gipsy caravan sites rests with county councils and it would not be appropriate for my right hon. Friend to intervene as the hon. Member suggests. My right hon. Friend can only call in a planning application where the county council has notified him that it would represent a substantial departure from the development plan, or where the issue is of more than local importance. He has not been so notified and, bearing in mind that the Redmires site is not in fact in the area of the Peak Park, he does not consider that the matter is other than a local one.