Clause 21
Planning Bill
12:45 pm
Tom Brake (Shadow Minister, Department for Communities and Local Government; Carshalton and Wallington, Liberal Democrat)
I beg to move amendment No. 162, in clause 21, page 11, line 3, at end add
‘but excludes tramways, and guided transport as defined under subsections 81(2)(b) and 81(2)(c) of the Railways Act 1993’.
It is a pleasure to be under your chairmanship, Mr. Illsley, and I hope that you are able to remain in your seat for the rest of the deliberations. Clearly, there are some challenges there.
It is a great pleasure to speak in favour of the amendment. It touches on a number of points that have been raised throughout the Committee’s proceedings, particularly the question of overloading the commission, which the Minister said he was keen to avoid. He also said that he was keen not to remove from local authorities control over issues that are significant in their areas.
The amendment, which relates to tramways and guided transport, is favoured by the LGA, which has made it clear that the commission should look at a small number of proposals each year, rather than the sort of figure that the Government have suggested. It has highlighted its concerns about the commission taking on responsibility for tramways and guided transport. The LGA does not deem those to be nationally significant infrastructure projects, and I agree. It should be down to local authorities to consider those.
I am fortunate to have the Croydon tram close to my constituency, and it is clear that the sort of deliberations that had to happen over the route, such as the impact on local people of much of the tram route running through local streets, clearly required the local authority to deal with them. Such deliberations should not be tackled by the commission.
Equally, there is a strong demand for, and many vocal advocates of, the tram to be extended to Sutton, my area. I mention in passing Abigail Lock, if only because she is the Liberal Democrat candidate for Sutton and Croydon for the Greater London authority, who is leading the campaign to bring the tram to Sutton. Should that happen, there would be challenges from residents who object to having the tram coming down their streets, and the local authority and the local councillors will have the best insight into what would be acceptable and what would be the preferable route. It should be within their hands to manage that application. There will be a huge concern if the responsibility for considering that ends up with a commission that, with the best will in the world, will not be able to acquire the local knowledge itself and will find it difficult to bring in others who have that knowledge, because it rests with local councillors and residents.
I also think that local authorities will not drag their feet in the case of trams. In recent years, the Government’s position on trams has changed slightly, as hon. Members will know. They were going to provide additional capacity and solve many of the congestion problems in our major cities, but the Government have gone a little cold on them. Many local authorities, however, have been bidding for, and are keen to have, tram schemes in their areas. Therefore, they would be unlikely to drag that process out unnecessarily, and that is similar to what the Minister wants to do, as he wants those decisions to be taken quickly. As a result of the important role that local authorities can play in reducing congestion through tram schemes, they will want to facilitate that process.