§ Lord Greavesasked Her Majesty's Government:
Whether the policy statement by the Secretary of State for Defence in July 2000, which committed the Ministry of Defence to follow the planning system as closely as possible, will apply to any upgrading of RAF Fylingdales as proposed in the department's discussion paper on missile defence (or otherwise); whether and in what ways the North York Moors National Park Authority will have a role in this process; and whether and in what ways there will be public consultation over any such proposals; and [HL1002]
Whether any proposals for the upgrading of RAF Fylingdales as proposed in the Ministry of Defence consultation paper on missile defence (or otherwise) will be the subject of a full environmental impact assessment; and to the major development test set out in paragraph 4.5 of Planning Guidance PPG7. [HL1003]
§ The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Ministry of Defence (Lord Bach)In my statement to the House on 15 January, I indicated that the Government have come to the preliminary conclusion that they should agree to the request by the United States to upgrade the facilities at RAF Fylingdales for missile defence purposes. We believe that the work involved (essentially internal modifications to the radar and communications buildings) will not amount to development within its definition in the planning Acts or PPG7, and therefore will not require any formal planning consultation. We are, however, in touch with the North Yorks Moors National Park Authority, as the relevant local planning authority, and have undertaken to provide it with full evidence to substantiate this case as it becomes available.