§ Mr. SawfordTo ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions when PPG 13 will be published; and if he will make a statement. [156064]
§ Mr. RaynsfordWe are today publishing the final version of PPG13. This is a major step towards integrating planning and transport at the local level and helping deliver the Government's 10 Year Plan for Transport. It forms a key part of our transport, urban and rural policies.
PPG13 is about getting the right development in the right place and ensuring people have a choice in transport. We want local authorities to actively manage the pattern of growth to make the fullest use of public transport and to integrate local transport investment decisions with location decisions for the major land uses.
PPG13 introduces Transport Assessments, to replace Traffic Impact Assessments, which will ensure that assessments of major development proposals cover access by all modes of transport. These assessments will help to promote development which is located and designed to provide access by a choice of modes and encourages developers to incorporate measures such as car-sharing schemes as part of travel plans. We will shortly be publishing good practice advice on undertaking Transport Assessments.
The guidance provides encouragement for well-designed and well-conceived park and ride schemes, ensuring that such proposals will be given favourable treatment through the planning system. In some circumstances, park, and ride schemes may be permissible in the Green Belt, provided a thorough assessment shows the scheme to be the most sustainable of the available options.
PPG13 also carries forward proposals set out in the Rural White Paper to promote housing, jobs and services in rural service centres, including market towns. We also want local authorities to take a positive approach to farm diversification proposals to promote rural employment opportunities and to help reduce long-distance commuting to urban areas. Such diversification proposals should not be rejected where they would give rise to only modest additional traffic and would not have significant impact on minor roads.
The public consultation exercise on the draft version of PPG13 showed strong support for the guidance and for the use of national maximum parking standards for the major land uses. However, we have made changes to the standards, and how, they are applied, to address business concerns and ensure the approach encourages investment in town centres an I will be conducting a review of the impact of the standards over the next two to three years.
Copies of the guidance are being placed in the House Libraries and it is also available on the DETR website (at www.planning.detr gov.uk).