§ Mr. JackTo ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions what procedures must be followed by a local authority seeking to close, on a permanent basis, a section of the public highway in connection with development. [82672]
§ Mr. PrescottSection 247 of the Town and Country Planning Act 1990, enables a developer to seek the stopping up or diversion of a highway to enable a development which has planning permission to proceed. A similar procedure exists under section 248 of the Act for side roads, and under S249 a local highway authority can apply to pedestrianise a road. All stopping up orders are subject to an objection procedure. Where there are306W unwithdrawn objections, the Secretary of State will usually call for a public inquiry to be held before deciding whether the order should be made or not.