HC Deb 09 February 2001 vol 362 cc726-7W
Mr. Ben Chapman

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions if he will make it his policy to levy charges on an increasing scale on developers who make repeated appeals in residential planning cases. [149057]

Ms Beverley Hughes

We have no plans to levy charges on developers who make repeated planning appeals. Section 70A of the Town and Country Planning Act 1990 gives local planning authorities the power to turn away planning applications where a substantially similar proposal has been rejected by the Secretary of State, on appeal or following a call-in, within the previous two years and where there has been no significant change in the material circumstances

Mr. Ben Chapman

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions if he will bring forward proposals to give objectors equal rights to developers and their agents when inspectors visit sites subject to residential planning applications. [149058]

Ms Beverley Hughes

Under the statutory rules for handling appeals by inquiries or hearings, all parties, including objectors, have an opportunity to attend a site visit if undertaken by an inspector. The rules for handling appeals by written representations do not include provision for a site visit, but an inspector will always make one. The planning inspectorate will notify objectors of the site visit arrangements if they have been asked to do so.

In all cases, inspectors refuse to hear evidence or submissions from any parties during a site visit.

Mr. Ben Chapman

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions if he will limit the number of appeals a developer can make in residential planning cases. [149059]

Ms Beverley Hughes

A developer's right of appeal to the Secretary of State against a local planning authority's refusal of, or failure to decide, a planning application is a long-established part of the planning system. Section 70A of the Town and Country Planning Act 1990 enables local planning authorities to turn away repeat applications in defined circumstances. We have no plans to change the current position.