Planning Bill

As was pointed out in our earlier debate, a number of the amendments that we are discussing will change the Bill significantly. Some were tabled in response to the raising of issues in Committee, but they are not new issues. Organisations and people out in the real world who will be affected by the Bill have doubtless been raising them with the Government ever since the announcement that it was to be introduced. As other Members have said, it is a shame that it has taken us from the beginning of the Committee stage until a fairly crowded Report stage to address some of them. Let me deal with the new clauses and amendments in turn, as was done by the Minister and by the hon. Member for Clwyd, West (Mr. Jones). New clause 9 is welcome in that it delineates a little more clearly which highway schemes would be given to the IPC to decide and consult on. The hon. Member for Clwyd, West rightly pointed out that the Local Government Association has lobbied heavily on that issue. Indeed, its chairman gave evidence to us before the Committee stage. He said that the LGA would be happy with the Government's proposals, but I must confess that I think that it probably is not. Amendments tabled by me, which I shall discuss later, may be slightly more in accord with the concern expressed by local government about which roads will be involved. Trunk roads are handled by the Highways Agency and are currently under the aegis of the Secretary of State when it comes to planning decisions. The arrangements are not confined to motorways and other specific kinds of road, which I believe are described as special roads, or special highways, in the Bill. The arrangements include a number of important highways whose construction would have a big local impact, and on which local authorities would want the power to decide. As the Minister has said, such decisions are currently made by the Secretary of State, which returns us to a discussion that we have had before about whether it would be preferable for them to be made by the IPC. As others have said, we shall discuss that more fully later, but I believe that the clarification provided in the new clause—although helpful in explaining the Government's intent—does not go far enough to deal with concern about the growing role of the IPC. I do not like the dreadful phrase ““mission creep””, although I have yet to come up with a better term; I am sure that older and wiser heads than mine will do so as the debate proceeds. However, I think that the concept it describes is cause for great concern, not just in the context of highways but in relation to a raft of possible IPC decisions, and—as we heard in evidence—the Local Government Association wants that to be restricted. Amendments Nos. 331 to 338, tabled by me and my hon. Friend the Member for Carshalton and Wallington (Tom Brake), seek to remove trunk roads from the provisions of clause 29, further restricting the application to highways. That clause may, of course, be replaced by new clause 9 today. I do not intend to press our amendments to a Division, but I believe that the Government could do more to meet the concerns expressed by the LGA and others. New clause 10 tightens the definition of railway applications. I welcome what the Minister said in response to points about, for instance, light rail that were raised by my hon. Friend the Member for Carshalton and Wallington in Committee. However, as a result of concern expressed by the hon. Member for Clwyd, West about permitted development rights I tabled new clause 38, which I understand will be debated next Monday, and which also deals with the widening of scope. The Minister spoke at some length about the devolution settlement and about the issue that my hon. Friend the Member for Montgomeryshire (Lembit Öpik) has sought to address with his amendment; the aspiration of the Welsh Assembly Government to have a greater say over power generation. In answer to my hon. Friend the Member for Brecon and Radnorshire (Mr. Williams), the Minister said that discussions were continuing, implying that it might be possible to do this without substantially altering the devolution settlement. Amendment No. 325 seeks to prevent the powers from being transferred to the IPC in the hope that those discussions can continue. I support the concept, not just in terms of my traditional—as it has become during the course of the Bill—antipathy to the IPC. Restricting anything from going to the IPC is worth doing, but in this case the amendment seeks to reserve the possibility of negotiations continuing in future without the added complication of the IPC interfering. The Minister sought to address clustering through amendment No. 92, an important issue that may be relevant to my constituency in the near future. The Minister was referring to wind power and onshore wind development. We had the first wind farm in the country in North Cornwall at Delabole. We are proud of that, and there is great support for renewable energy. But there is concern that when an area has shown it is willing to take steps in that direction, it becomes the focal point for developers across the country, who descend on it rather than look at other equally suitable sites, causing saturation. Certain smaller applications may come together to make something that is nationally significant, but in that clustering, there is even more local significance. The concern for people in my area is not just that clustering is taking place, but that the initial decision on it is taken away from the local authority, even if that decision might go to the Planning Inspectorate. Clustering could make matters slightly worse. The recognition of clustering is welcome, but the idea of transferring consideration of it to the IPC is problematic and adds to my growing concern about its expanding role. The Minister has sought to respond to a number of concerns and has offered some clarification. Unfortunately, that has not brought about a state of affairs that I and others outside the House can support. It implies yet again a growing concentration of decision-making powers in the hands of the IPC. We are yet to see how the IPC will work and whether it will be able to undertake all the functions being heaped upon it. On airport expansion, the hon. Member for Hayes and Harlington (John McDonnell) set out, as he always does, just how important the issue is to people in west London. He is right to point out that many Members from west London will be concerned if that thorny issue is drawn into the Bill. My hon. Friend the Member for Twickenham (Dr. Cable) was discussing this with me earlier and sought some clarification on what may be in the Bill. I suppose that, yet again, the feeling will be that it is very welcome that this matter will move in some way into the planning realm, that people will therefore have the chance to get their opinions across and that there will be consultation and so on, although there may well be disquiet that the IPC, which is not a democratically accountable body, will be taking this decision. I risk straying again into issues that we will be deciding later, Mr. Deputy Speaker. I have concerns about some of the Minister's comments about how the new clauses and amendments will change the Bill. I shall seek permission to put amendment No. 325, which stands in the name of my hon. Friends, to a separate vote, should that be the will of the House. I also reserve judgment on some of the other measures that the Minister has addressed.