To ask the Secretary of State for Defence when his Department expects to submit a planning application for the proposed Technology Development Centre at the Atomic Weapons Establishment Aldermaston to the local planning authority; whether an environmental impact assessment will be prepared for the proposed development; and whether he plans to request a defence-exempt environmental impact assessment direction for the proposed development.

holding answer 30 November 2011

The planning application for the proposed Technology Development Centre was submitted to West Berkshire council on 25 November 2011. A Defence environmental impact assessment exemption direction was granted by the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, my right hon. Friend Mr Pickles, on 17 August 2011 so an environmental impact assessment will not be submitted. However, a defence-exempt environmental appraisal has been included with the planning application. This provides the majority of the information that would have been supplied with an environmental impact assessment; a small amount of information has, however, been omitted for the purpose of safeguarding national security.