§ Mr. ChaytorTo ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions if he has reached a final decision on the future of areas of special control of advertisements; and if he will make a statement. [140885]
§ Ms Beverley HughesThe Consultation Paper `Outdoor Advertisement Control' highlighted the problems associated with the current operation of the ASCA regime. In particular, because local planning authorities have not undertaken systematically the five yearly reviews of these areas, the status of some areas has changed over time to the extent that they may no longer meet the criteria for designation. This is clearly an unsatisfactory state of affairs which needs to be addressed.
The announcement of 29 June 2000, Official Report, column 600W, proposed to address the problem by limiting the geographic scope of ASCAs, requiring all advertising hoardings in areas of the countryside not within an ASCA to obtain express consent, and giving local authorities responsibility for determining those applications.
555WWe have considered further the responses received since that announcement. As a result, we are proposing an alternative means of addressing the problem by seeking instead to clarify and update the current position regarding designated areas.
The Department is therefore writing to all local planning authorities asking them to undertake a review of ASCAs in their areas in order to satisfy themselves that their extent remains appropriate and necessary. The current legislative scope of the ASCA regime will thus remain unchanged.