§ 18. Miss KirkbrideTo ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions what assessment he has made of the Worcestershire county council document "Shaping the New Worcestershire"; and if he will make a statement. [47638]
§ Mr. Raynsford"Shaping the New Worcestershire" is a document seeking views of local people on a number of housing and job-related development options to inform preparation of the Structure Plan for the new County. This is very much in line with the Secretary of State's statement in the House on 23 February 1998,Official Report, columns 21–25, when he said that he wanted local people to be consulted as early as possible in the process so that they fully understand the consequences of decisions on releasing land for housing and can have a say in the choice of locations. My Department has chosen not to comment on the options at this stage but we expect to examine the Council's definitive proposal's at the next stage of the Structure Plan process.