Planning (Hansard, 18 March 1994)

§ Mr. Curry

My right hon. Friends the Secretaries of State for the Environment and for Wales have today laid amendments to the Town and Country Planning (Assessment of Environmental Effects) Regulations 1988. These add privately financed toll roads to schedule 1 of the regulations, thus requiring environmental assessment in every case; and wind generators, motorway service areas and coast protection works to schedule 2 of the regulations, the effect of which will be to allow local planning authorities to require EA where a particular development proposal would be likely to have significant effects on the environment. The amendments will come into effect on 8 April.

The amendments will bring privately financed toll roads promoted by local authorities in line with similar toll roads promoted by the Department of Transport. The addition of motorway service areas reflects the fact that EA has been undertaken for motorway service areas proposed in the past by the Department of Transport. Future motorway service areas will be provided instead by private developers, but the measures announced today will ensure that they continue to be subject to EA. Coast protection works, which are carried out by maritime district councils, have been added to bring them in line with new flood relief works, including sea defence works, which are already included in schedule 2 of the regulations and subject to EA where appropriate. Wind generators have been added because they can often have a significant visual impact on the local environment, particularly in sensitive areas.

The amendments to the regulations also include the technical changes referred to in the reply which my right hon. Friend the Member for Ealing, Acton (Sir G. Young) gave on 16 December 1992, Official Report, columns 320–21.

Since my right hon. Friend's reply, the Government have reviewed earlier proposals for the addition of further categories of project to the regulations. We have concluded that any extension of the regulations beyond those set out above would be inconsistent with the aim of limiting unnecessary regulation. However, the environmental effects of any project will continue to be among the material considerations which a planning authority must take into account when deciding whether or not to grant planning permission.

My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Scotland will be making similar amendments to the equivalent EA regulations for Scotland.