Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Lord Pickles and Lord Bellingham

Monday 16th March 2015 Commons Chamber

[Mr Henry Bellingham (North West Norfolk) (Con)]

Will the Secretary of State confirm that councils, such as my local borough council of King’s Lynn and West Norfolk, with emerging local plans and a five-year supply of housing, will not be overruled on appeal or undermined by speculative planning applications?

[Mr Pickles]

Provided a neighbourhood plan has been submitted, then it has considerable weight, as has been confirmed by a recent court case.

Winter Floods

Debate between Lord Pickles and Lord Bellingham

Thursday 6th February 2014 Commons Chamber

[Mr Pickles]

I think Hampshire has behaved particularly well throughout the crisis, and in liaising with my Department and with DEFRA it has been exceptionally good. It is not about the type of activity; there is a threshold, and the decisions we have just made will help Hampshire with the threshold on Bellwin.

[Mr Henry Bellingham (North West Norfolk) (Con)]

Is the Secretary of State aware that Norfolk’s sea defences held up remarkably well against a record surge? Most repairs have been carried out, but one section that has not been repaired is along Beach road at Brancaster. Will he talk to the Environment Agency about that important stretch of flood defences?

[Mr Pickles]

I certainly will. We tried to use that period to get a lot of emergency work done, but I suspect it might not have been possible or safe to have looked at those defences then. I will remind the Environment Agency, which I am sure will be round as soon as possible.