§ Mr. Peter BottomleyTo ask the President of the Board of Trade if it is a requirement for each European Community-supported infrastructure project in the United Kingdom and in each other member state to have had an environmental assessment and an economic assessment; and what arrangements are made for the assessments to be available to members of the public.
§ Mr. SainsburyThere are no special provisions for the environmental impact assessment of European structural funds projects, but all such projects must conform with national and Community environmental legislation.
Where a proposed development is of a type listed in directive 85/337/EEC and is likely to have significant environmental effects, environmental assessment will be required under the Town and Country Planning (Assessment of Environmental Effects) Regulations 1988. For such projects the applicant must prepare and submit an environmental statement, setting out the likely effects of the project on the environment, with the application for planning permission. Notice must be publicised in a local newspaper and copies of the statement made available for inspection and placed on the planning register.