Mr. John D. TaylorTo ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland when planning application No. X/98/0820 for the Riverside Residential Development in Comber was received by his Department; if the application allows for the future construction of the next stage of the Comber by-pass road scheme; what matters are outstanding before a planning determination can be made; and if he will make a statement about the time still required before issue of that planning decision. [94377]
§ Mr. George HowarthResponsibility for the subject in question has been delegated to the Planning Service under its Chief Executive, Mr. H. S. McKay. I have asked him to arrange for a reply to be given.
661WLetter from H. S. McKay to Mr. John D. Taylor, dated 22 October 1999:
The Secretary of State has asked me to reply to your recent Question about the application for planning rmission for the Riverside Residential Development in Comber.The Department received this application on 12 November 1998 and designated it as a major one under the Article 31 procedure of the Planning (Northern Ireland) Order 1991 on 12 March 1999. The Roads Service is actively exploring the options that may be open to the developers to fund or part fund the next stage of the Comber By-Pass. An Environmental Statement in support of the application was submitted on 21 June 1999 and the on-going assessment of this Statement has identified a number of shortcomings that the agent has been asked to address. This information has not yet been received and is of importance because the proposal raises a number of conservation issues which require careful consideration since the site impinges upon the Strangford Lough Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty and adjoins an Area of Special Scientific Interest, a proposed Special Protection Area, a Special Area of Conservation and a Ramsar Site. It is too early yet to say when a decision on the application can be made as it may be necessary to hold a public local inquiry into the proposal.I do hope this is helpful.