§ Mr. Skeetasked the Prime Minister what is the planning regime for the seabed in waters up to territorial limits; and whether it is her intention to take steps to appoint a body with statutory powers to deal with it.
§ The Prime MinisterThere is no general planning regime for the seabed off the United Kingdom coast, although in a few cases local authorities' planning powers may cover adjacent waters.
The then Secretary of State for Transport, in a statement on 12 May 1983, said that the Government accept, in principle, that new statutory powers will be needed; their broad purpose would be to establish controls over offshore industrial projects of the kind which already apply to similar developments on land. Such controls would enable the environmental and amenity aspects to be taken into account and bring the procedures for consideration within ministerial control. I would not envisage the appointment of a body with statutory powers to deal with problems of this sort. The detailed form that this legislation might take is still under consideration.