§ Mr. Michael Brownasked the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will make regulations under the Town and Country Planning Acts to require that a local authority shall hold a public local inquiry before granting planning permission to itself for development of its own land where such development would be in conflict with an approved local plan or where no local plan has yet been approved for the area.
§ Mr. MacfarlaneSection III of the Local Government Act 1972 already enables a local authority to hold a public local inquiry in any case where it considers this would help it in coming to a properly informed decision. I have no evidence to suggest that it would be right or necessary to require such an inquiry to be held in every case.