§ Mr. Gordon PrenticeTo ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions, pursuant to the answer of 19 January 1998,Official Report, column 328W 425, on historic battlefields, what steps he is taking to protect the battlefield site at Tewkesbury from housing development. [31074]
§ Mr. RaynsfordOn 18 July 1997, my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State called in a planning application by Bryant Homes Mercia Ltd. for the erection of 51 dwellings at Gastons Field, Tewkesbury. The site in question is thought to be part of the site of the Battle of Tewkesbury. The public local inquiry into the application is due to start on 10 March. The battlefield is included on the Register of Historic Battlefields compiled by English Heritage and this, together with all other relevant considerations, will be taken into account by my right hon. Friend in reaching his decision on the application.