THE LONDON GREEN BELT COUNCIL

Minutes of the Meeting held in the Abbey Community Centre, Westminster on 2 July 2001 (slightly edited)

Present

Mr J Wilkinson MP (President), Mr R W G Srnith (Vice Chairman) (Potters Bar Society) (in the chair) Mr L G Holt, Secretary (Chislehurst Society), Mr S R Smith, Treasurer (Enfield Preservation Society) Mr M Hencke, Assistant Secretary (Old Coulsdon Residents Association) Mrs G Oliver, Assistant Secretary (East Barnet Parish Residents Association)

Representatives from Bexley Civic Society, Brindles Wood Residents Association, Chiltern Society, Chislehurst Society, CPRE Surrey, Cyclists Touring Club, Coulsdon Residents Association, Elstree and Borehamwood Green Belt Soc, Friern Barnet & Whetstone RA, Leighton Buzzard Preservation Society, North Uxbridge Residents Association, Oak Farm Residents Association, Open Spaces Society, Otford Parish Council, Pembury Society, Potters Bar Society, Sevenoaks Society, Shoreham Society, South Ruislip Residents Association, Warlingham Parish Council

Apologies for absence from Carshalton-on-the-Hill RA, CPRE- HQ, CPRE London, Croydon Society, Hatch End Association, Mill Hill Preservation Soc, North Mymms District Green Belt Society, Sane Planning in the South East, Society for the Protection of Ascot and the Environs, Stoke Poges Parish Council.

Matters arising from previous minutes

Cane Hill Hospital, Croydon - to everyone's surprise, Croydon Council, late in 2000, rejected the application to enlarge Cane Hill Hospital's residual Medium Secure Unit with a new building on green belt land. Equally surprisingly, given how much the applicants had apparently wished for their scheme to be approved, they decided not to appeal. Further proposals for the development of the large hospital site which is partly Green Belt are awaited, as are the current occupants' proposals for what to do with the Medium Secure Unit. Many empty buildings on the site have been vandalised and there have been two serious fires. Mr Hancock advocates local groups putting forward ideas for the development of redundant sites like Cane Hill so that the planning authority knows what local people would like.

Belmont Riding School, Mill Hill - Miss Dewing had recently sought LGBC opinion on the latest development at Belmont Riding School. Land had recently been leased to a circus and a film unit. Mill Hill Preservation Society was concerned that as they have placed caravans on the site this could be a forerunner to an application for housing.

Claybury Hospital. LGBC had submitted comments on a proposal for residential development outside the limits of the development already permitted.

Central Railway Ministers refused to comment on whether they would accede to Central Railways' request to sponsor the scheme with a Hybrid Bill but instead referred the matter to the Strategic Rail Authority for comment prior to a decision. Ministers also said that they were waiting for information from Central Railways, that it was up to Central Railways whether it wanted to use the Transport and Works Act or not, and that any MP could sponsor a Hybrid Bill. The Strategic Rail Authority is expected to report shortly.

The Local Authorities Central Railway Consortium (LACRC) was formed in February and now has 16 members covering more than half of CR's proposed route from the Channel Tunnel to Leicestershire. In June, the LACRC presented a Review of Central Railways' scheme to the Strategic Rail Authority strongly criticisms the scheme and challenging fundamental aspects of their claims and proposals. The Consortium's Chairman, Councillor Trevor Eagleton, Leader of South Bucks DC, said the scheme raises more questions than answers, and that Councils are simply not convinced that a scheme isolated from the rest of the rail network could provide the benefits claimed by Central Railways.

Central Railways announced in May that it was also proposing a passenger service between Heathrow, Yorkshire and the Northwest, using outsize trains. Like the proposed freight trains, such large passenger trains could not use ordinary UK railway lines. They gave no details of how such trains could conveniently serve Heathrow and population centres in the North. So far only freight terminals located close to motorways have been proposed.

Very recently, articles have appeared in specialist and provincial press implying that CR's scheme is about to get Government approval. This is premature and seems to be based solely on Central Railways publicity. The President thanked Mr Babler and said that he did not know what line Mr Byers would take towards the scheme. He was glad that the local authorities had joined together.

 Racecourse at Fairlop The hotel had been dropped from this application which is under appeal. LGBC had submitted comments to the Inspector.

 Bromley draft UDP LGBC had submitted further comments on the draft plea

 Expansion of Biggin Hill Airport - an application for a large hanger had been refused. Activity on the general expansion proposals and extended flying hours had gone quiet. A wider review of SE air traffic is under way and development at Biggin Hill before that is complete would be premature. An application for a hanger at Redhill had also been refused.

 Hertsmere Local Plan The developer concerned had objected to the Council's decision to restore the land accidentally removed from the Green Belt. The Council had therefore decided to reopen the inquiry into the plan before coming to a final decision. 11 September 2001 has been set as the date for the inquiry to resume. E&BWGBS said they had received a lot of support from James Clappison MP in connection with the local plan.

 CPRE Advice to members on Green Belt boundaries in local plans CPRE said that changes to Green Belt boundaries should be considered only when all other more sustainable options have been exhausted. This wording derives from papers issued by DETR but we prefer the clearer wording on RPG 9 which states that changes to the Green Belt should only be made after the local authorities have considered all other alternative locations for development within their area.

 RTPI's Anti-Green Belt Belt campaign There had been no real change on this. 'Planning' has printed letters on both sides. The Institute tried, before the general election, to get LGBC to say that Labour would be the greater threat to the Green Belt but LGBC insisted that there was little between the parties on the issue.

 Aggregate recycling at Laburnum Avenue, Bourne Wood. Swanley There had been a fresh application for this recycling facility and LGBC had written again restating LGBC objections

 Craft centre at Botany Bay, Enfield - LGBC had written to the mayor in January to intervene to protect the Green Belt and Heritage land. The answer, received in May, was that the Mayor can only deal with the construction or a material change of use of a building of 1000 sq.m or more. Botany Bay has a cluster of quite small buildings but the aggregate must approach 1000 sq.m., and LGBC will pursue the matter further.  

Break up of the DETR

Government reorganisation following the election has resulted in issues of interest to LGBC being split between the new Department for Transport Local Government and the Regions (DTLR) and the Dep't for Environment Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA). Regional Development Agencies were going to DTI. The Vice Chairman said it was a mystery how Rural Affairs were going to separated from Planning and Environment from Local Government. The President had no further information and the Secretary commented that the changes had not gone down well in the, planning press. Common land, he added, was going to he the responsibility of DEFRA.

Planning Procedures and the Human Rights Act

1. The Secretary of state's status in planning decisions and appeal procedures - Initially there had been concern that the whole planning system would be turned upside down by a decision of the High Court that Secretary of State's role in the planning system breached the European Convention on Human Rights. The court held that he was judge and jury in his own cause and so there was no access to a fair hearing by an independent and impartial tribunal. There was relief therefore when the House of Lords reversed the judgement on the grounds that, though the Secretary of State in calling in and deciding appeals was not independent the possible avenues of appeal to the Court from the Secretary of State's decision did provide an adequate independent hearing. Where the Secretary of State allowed an appeal when the inspector had recommended dismissal those 'others' would not have had an opportunity to put their case to an independent tribunal. There had been a lot of discussion in the planning press on whether the Planning Inspectorate should be more independent of the Secretary of state.

2. Gypsy Sites There had been concern that the European Court of Human Rights would hold that forbidding or removing gypsy settlements in the Green Belt would infringe the gypsies' Human rights, contrary to the European Convention. However the Court held that, though planning decisions and enforcement interfered with certain rights, the interference was justified because the measures were in accordance with a law which pursued the legitimate aim of protecting the lights of others through the preservation of the environment. This was a very important decision but LGBC foresaw attempts to get round it. The President added that the three MPs covering Hillingdon had met the police on traveller problems on all sorts of sites and it was clear that they were going to take a tougher line than in the past, taking care to avoid anything which could be construed as racial discrimination.

Effect of the Housing Act 1985 on the 1938 Green Belt Act

See Notes 125 in which a tenant's right to buy was held to have repealed the inalienability provision of the 1938 Act 'pro tanto'. A judge has confirmed that this means the 1938 Act has been repealed only in so far as is necessary to avoid conflict with the right to buy in the Housing Act . In the vast majority of situations the 1938 Act remains inalienable. There will be a further item in the next issue of Notes. 

Consultation papers and Reports

 1. Revision of PPG17 - LGBC had written objecting to the wording 'open air sport and recreation'. Similar wording in the draft PPG2 was amended to read 'open air sport and open air recreation' to avoid arguments that the phrase 'open air' applies only to sport and not recreation.

 2. Strengthening Regional Accountability - refer to this DETR consultation paper mentioned in Issue 125 of Notes in connection with relations between Regional Development Agencies and Regional Assemblies. With the break-up of DETR and the transfer of Regional Development Agencies to DTI, confusion could only get worse.

 3. Toward the London Plan The full version of this paper refers to the Green Belt only incidentally and is rather vague about what it really means by 'London'. Almost all of the paper is concerned with built-up areas when it should present the built-up and country parts of the area as complementary ingredients of a whole. Members within the Mayor's area should get copies of the document and consider what comments they should make. Comments have to be in by 31 July.

LGBC had obtained the Mayor's comments on Bromley's draft revised plan and had been pleased to note that the comments took a strong line on Green Belt. They criticised the lack of justification for taking quite small areas out of the Green Belt and also argued that the runway area of Biggin Hill airport should not be included in the major developed site. A member did not like the idea of comparing London with other world cities like New York and Tokyo. He did not want to see the consequences of trying to compete with them - like 500,000 more houses and a third runway at Heathrow. The President agreed that organisations within Greater London should make clear to the Mayor the importance of London being an agreeable place to live with a proper balance of built and open land. He also recommended establishing good contacts with London Regional Authority members.

4. Strategic Gaps and Green Wedges in Structure Plans This paper, reporting research for DETR by Oxford Brookes University, contains one ambiguous statement about the Green Belt but is generally a fair presentation. 'Planning' quoted the statement under a misleading headline, which gave the impression that the paper was against Green Belts. They also published a letter from a Planning Officer who said Green Wedges were preferable to Green Belts because they could be altered when plans were revised.

Treasurer's.Report.

 The treasurer reported that 39 reminders of unpaid subscriptions had been sent out, since which two more had bear paid. LGBC's financial year ends on 31 August and a final reminder will be sent to any organisation which had not paid by the beginning of August. LGBC funds stand at £6021.

Officers' reports on new business

 The Vice Chairman had invited Chris Smith MP to become a vice-president of LGBC. His constituency (Islington South & Finsbury) does not have Green Belt but Mr Smith's involvement would signal the fact that Green Belt is an issue of importance to central Londoners and not just those on the periphery. Mr Turner thought this was an excellent idea and the meeting agreed.

 The Secretary reported he had:

(a) objected to a 104 bed hotel at Gracelands Park, Igtham and the application had been refused

(b) commented on an application for change of use from agricultural to recreational with an ancillary club house at Park Farm Upminster

(c) commented on an application for residential development Fokes lane, Cranham, Upminster

(d) commented on extensions, including a new leisure complex, at Palms Hotel, Southend Arterial Road, Hornchurch

(e) commented on the proposed use, of land at Lower Bedford Road, Romford for a small family gypsy caravan site

(f) objected to a single storey meeting hall for religious worship at Thomet Wood Road, Bickley

(g) objected to the enlargement of crossroads on Commons at the junction of Royal Parade and Bromley Lane, Chislehurst

(h) objected to residential development on lane north west of Norman Park, Bromley

(i) commented on proposals for the restoration of Greatness Quarry, Sevenoaks involving an integrated waste management facility

 Mrs Oliver said that

(a) she had received a pile of documents a proposed sports stadium at Pickett's Lock in the Lea Valley which she was considering.

(b) she was also considering the Harrow draft UDP which at first sight appeared to be reasonable. So far she has only found brief reference to Green Belt land and Metropolitan Open Space with no reference to PPG2. There may be more later.

 Other matters raised by members

 Ms Hargreaves was concerned that proposals to expand the headquarters of the Thames Chase Community Forest could be an over development. They included use of a barn as a children's play area This seemed to have little to do with attracting people with an interest in the forest and more to do with making money. There had been no planning application yet but it needed watching

 Mr Selwyn said that the government were proposing to amend PPG7 to encourage diversification and this was something else which needed watching.

 Mr Babler was concerned at press reports shortly after the general election which suggested die the public would lose its voice in major planning issue. This stemmed from a desire to avoid interminable and expensive appeals like that on Heathrow Terminal 5. It was not clear how this would impinge on the Transport and Works Act procedure. Mr Turner sad that CPRE were take up this question with Ministers. He considered that the present system was not satisfactory; a lot of money was spent arguing about things which seemed as though they were foregone conclusions. What was needed was a system which gave people a real chance to he heard and taken notice of The President said he would take the matter up as well.

 THE NEXT MEETING will be the AGM in the autumn on a date to be renounced The Vice Chairman reminded members of the need to find a new chairman by then.