§ Mr. Ben ChapmanTo ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions if he will require councils to require detailed plans to be made available at outline stage in respect of areas which have been offered protection by being made conservation or guideline areas, and for approval to be tied to the specific proposals. [149646]
§ Ms Beverley HughesWe have no plans to do so. Where an application is made for outline planning permission, the local planning authority may grant permission subject to a condition specifying reserved matters for the authority's subsequent approval. However, the Town and Country Planning (General Development Procedure) Order 1995 enables authorities to require within a month if receiving an outline planning application further details from applicants where they are of the opinion that the application ought not to be considered separately from all or any of the reserved matters.
It is for planning authorities to decide whether to accept changes to planning applications after they have been submitted, provided that they do not materially change the 115W character of the development, or to require a fresh planning application. Where changes are accepted, it is for authorities to decide whether further publicity is desirable.
§ Mr. Ben ChapmanTo ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions (1) if he will require identified objectors to be notified when post-application discussions between planning officers and applicants is to take place; [149648]
(2) if he will standardise the levels of confidentiality applied to pre and post-application discussions between applicants and planning officers in p1anning cases across local authorities; [149640]
(3) if he will require greater openness in post-application discussions between planning officers and applicants and their representatives; [149647]
(4) if he will codify the rules on pre and post-application discussions between planning officers and applicants or their representatives. [150025]
§ Ms Beverley HughesWe have no plans to do so. However, all discussions should be carried out within the guidelines set out in the Local Government Association's "Probity in Planning" and local authorities' own planning codes of practice.
§ Mr. Ben ChapmanTo ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions if he will establish a planning ombudsman. [149642]
§ Ms Beverley HughesWe have no plans to do so. The local government ombudsman is the independent and impartial body charged by Parliament with investigating complaints about local authorities.
§ Mr. Ben ChapmanTo ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions what effect pre-application discussions between planning officers and applicants are designed to have on planning decisions. [149643]
§ Ms Beverley HughesWe attach great importance to early consultation between developers and local planning authorities on development proposals. Pre-application discussions provide an opportunity for proposals to be revised and refined (for example, to reflect local planning policies) before planning applications are submitted and thus facilitate a speedier and more efficient processing of them.
§ Mr. Ben ChapmanTo ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions if he will require councils to make statements of planning authorities available to objectors at an earlier stage than at present, and before deadlines for submission of their statements. [149644]
§ Ms Beverley HughesStreamlined statutory procedures for handling planning appeals were introduced, following public consultation, in August last year. These require other parties to submit their comments or statements of case to the Secretary of State on the same time scale as local planning authorities and appellants submit their statements. The operation of the new procedures is being monitored, but we have no current plans to change them.
§ Mr. PicklesTo ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions how many planning appeals were lodged with his Department in each116W of the last 10 years for which figures are available; and how many appeals were dismissed by his Department in each of the last 10 years for which figures are available. [149810]
§ Ms Beverley HughesThe following is information provided by the planning inspectorate about planning appeals to the Secretary of State under section 78 of the Town and Country Planning Act 1990.
Year Appeals received in year Appeals refused in year 1990–91 26,692 17,522 1991–92 22,121 14,963 1992–93 17,959 11,853 1993–94 14,979 9,138 1994–95 14,651 8,098 1995–96 14,653 7,461 1996–97 13,767 7,819 1997–98 14,182 8,366 1998–99 14,381 8,354 1999–2000 14,772 8,046