§ Mr. Hunterasked the Secretary of State for the Environment whether he will make a statement on the Government's policy towards applications to build large shopping and leisure centres in the green belt.
§ Mr. Waldegrave[pursuant to his reply, 17 December 1986]: Policy on green belts remains as set out in DOE 686W circular 14/84. My right hon. Friend and I have made it clear that large new shopping and leisure centres do not belong in green belts. When I spoke on 14 October to a conference organised by the Confederation of British Industry, entitled "The Future of Shopping—In or Out of Town?" I said:
Hardly a week goes by without our reading in the Press of yet another vast shopping centre—or more often a 'shopping leisure complex'—which it is proposed to build in the middle of the Green Belt. Any such proposal has, of course, to be considered on its merits and in the light of general policy. Some may come to me on appeal, so I must not name names. There is provision, as there must be, for exceptions to be made in very special circumstances. But by way of general policy I would say that the promoters of some of the wilder schemes have no reason to think that they will succeed in breaching Green Belt policy. We arc certainly not opposed to new methods of retailing and the benefits that modern retail stores can bring to the customer. But they do not belong in the Green Belt policy. We are certainly not opposed to new methods of retailing and the benefits that modern retail stores can bring to the customer. But they do not belong in the Green Belt. Let that be understood".I also announced that we proposed to issue a direction requiring local planning authorities to consult the Department before granting permission for certain large new retail stores.
That direction has been issued today as an annex to a circular entitled "Policy on Major Retail Developments" published by Her Majesty's Stationery Office on behalf of my Department and the Welsh Office. A copy of the circular (21/86, Welsh Office 58,86), which also repeats Government policy on planning and large new retail developments, has been placed in the Library.