Mr. Andy StewartTo ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will make a statement on his current policy in respect of imposing conditions in planning permissions which restrict the dispatch of bulk materials to rail transport, in circumstances where the volume to be dispatched from the site may be large, the number of destinations is few and the environmental damage to communities affected by the road transport of the material is likely to be insignificant.
§ Mr. Michael Spicer[holding answer 25 June 1990]: The Government's policy on the imposition of conditions on the grant of planning permission is that they should be imposed only where they are necessary; relevant to planning; relevant to the development to be permitted; enforceable; precise; and reasonable in all other respects. A key test is whether planning permission would have to be refused if the condition were not to be imposed. A condition may be invalid if it is unduly restrictive. Whether it may be appropriate to impose a condition to restrict the mode of transport of bulk materials to and from a site will depend upon the particular circumstances of an individual case, and is a matter for the local planning authority in the first instance.