§ Mr. EnnisTo ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions when he will publish guidance to those concerned with the disposal and subsequent development of surplus Ministry of Defence properties. [21665]
§ Mr. CabornTogether with my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Defence, I have today published guidelines on the joint working of Ministry of Defence and Regional Government Offices on the disposal of surplus MOD property. Copies have been placed in the Library.
The guidelines, which have been prepared with the close cooperation of the Government Offices in the Regions, MOD and my Department, are designed to help mitigate any adverse impact on a local community which may follow the closure of a defence establishment. We hope that, by putting in place arrangements for joint working between MOD and the Government Offices, and by bringing into discussions at an early stage local authorities and other agencies which may be involved in planning the future use of redundant sites, the full potential of these sits will be realised, consistent with the principles of sustainable development. It is hoped that these arrangements will also help speed up the disposal process. It should be noted, however, that these guidelines may, in due course, need to be revised to take account of research currently underway into the development of the redundant defence estate, and to reflect the establishment of the Regional Development Agencies. For this reason, they should be seen as interim.
The guidelines, which I am sending to local authorities, bodies responsible for urban and rural regeneration, Government Offices and other interested bodies, will be freely available to other with an interest.