§ Mr. CousinsTo ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions when he proposes to answer the letter about the City of Newcastle upon Tyne Unitary Development Plan sent to him by the hon. Member for Newcastle upon Tyne, Central. [24657]
§ Mr. RaynsfordI replied to my hon. Friend's letter on 14 January.
§ Mr. CousinsTo ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions what plans he has to make modifications to the Revised Unitary Development Plan published by the City of Newcastle upon Tyne. [24656]
§ Mr. RaynsfordNone. Following very careful consideration of all the relevant issues considered by the Inspector to the UDP Inquiry, the Secretary of State decided not to object to the proposals to delete land from the Green Belt for the Northern Development Area. I understand that Newcastle City Council resolved to adopt their plan on 21 January.
Key factors which were taken into account in reaching this decision included the City Council's proposal to accommodate 76 per cent. of its housing requirements within the existing built up area and the fact that the Inspector accepted that further development in the built up area would lead to town cramming. In addition, the Inspector found that a continuation of population dispersal from Newcastle to Northumberland and North Tyneside would be less sustainable than the proposed development which lies less than 5km from the city centre and can be readily linked to the public transport network.