§ Lord Kennetasked Her Majesty's Government:
Whether the Royal Parks Agency enjoys Crown Immunity from planning law, if so why, and if not, what restrictions planning law places on its development activities.
§ The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Department of National Heritage (Lord Inglewood)Responsibility for the subject of this question has been delegated to the Royal Parks Agency under its Chief Executive, Mr. David Welch. I have asked him to arrange for a reply to be given.
Letter to Lord Kennet from the Head of Estate Management, the Royal Parks Agency, Mr. R. A. Jones, dated 25th July 1996.
In the absence of David Welch, who is currently on holiday, I have been asked by Lord Inglewood to reply to your parliamentary Question about whether the Royal Parks Agency enjoys Crown Immunity from planning law, and what restrictions planning law places on our development activities.
As is the case with all Crown bodies, the planning Acts do not apply to the Royal Parks Agency. The notification procedure of a proposed Crown development, adopted by all such bodies, is as set out in DoE circular 18/84. This involves close consultation with the planning authorities and provides an appeal procedure in the event that agreement cannot be reached. The agency formally notifies the local planning authority concerned of all its proposed developments which would require planning permission if the Acts applied.