Breadcrumbs
MATTERS ARISING REPORT FEBRUARY 2002 MEETING
The New Forest National Park (Designation) Order 2002 was placed on deposit on 21 February for four weeks and advertised in the local and national press in accordance with the requirements of the 1949 National Parks and Access to the Countryside Act. The Order and the Agency's advice on the special arrangements needed for a New Forest National Park Authority were submitted to the Secretary of State on 22 February. The Chairman hosted a well attended reception in the New Forest on 20 February to mark the publication and submission of the Order and advice.
Objections and representations of support to the Order are currently being analysed by DEFRA. It is expected that the Secretary of State will decide shortly whether to call a public inquiry and confirm what its scope will be. The Agency is aware that objections have been received from some local authorities so a public inquiry is expected.
In the event of an enquiry the Agency will defend the designation order and the boundary shown at the inquiry as agreed by the Board in December 2001. We expect the inquiry to commence in the autumn and to last for about four months. Resources for this have been provided for in the current corporate plan. Should any variations to the boundary appear to be necessary as a result of any new evidence brought forward to the inquiry, the Agency may advise the Secretary of State to vary the order before she confirms it. We will report back to the Board if this becomes the case.
The Board may wish to note that the Agency has also submitted evidence to the public inquiry into the major container port at Dibden Bay, which is included in the Designation Order. Our role in the inquiry is to defend the National Park boundary from this major and inappropriate industrial development.
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AP02/04 PLANNING GREEN PAPER: AN AGENCY RESPONSE
We submitted our response to the Government's Green Paper, setting out our broad support and commenting on matters of detail as appropriate. We supplemented our response with additional papers on a number of issues including spatial policy, relationships between plans and designated areas.
In addition, we submitted written evidence on the Planning Green Paper to the House of Commons Select Committee on Transport, Local Government and the Regions.
AP02/05 PROCEDURES FOR MAJOR INFRASTRUCTURE PROJECTS
We submitted our response to the Government's consultation paper Major Infrastructure Projects: delivering a fundamental change setting out our view that the role of parliament should be restricted to debating the national need for such projects and that locational issues and matters of detail should be dealt with by public inquiries.
AP02/06 REFORMING PLANNING OBLIGATIONS
We submitted our response to the Government's consultation paper Reforming Planning Obligations setting out our opposition to standardised tariffs and suggesting alternative approaches. We broadly welcomed proposals in the paper to better deliver affordable housing. We supplemented our response with more detailed comments on the operation of planning obligations, the role of local communities and affordable housing. The Chief Executive met officials in DTLR to discuss our response.
