Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Andrew Turner and Caroline Spelman

Thursday 5th July 2012 Commons Chamber

[Mr Andrew Turner (Isle of Wight) (Con)]

2. Under what circumstances the Forestry Commission may decline to comment on proposed developments on land for which it is responsible.

[The Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Mrs Caroline Spelman)]

It is for the planning authority to decide whether to grant permission for a development, guided by the national planning policy framework issued by the Department for Communities and Local Government. The Environment Agency and Natural England are statutory consultees in the planning process. The Forestry Commission will provide factual information on request on a non-statutory basis.

[Mr Turner]

Parkhurst forest is an ancient woodland that is home to rare flora and fauna, and much of it is a site of special scientific interest. It is owned partly by the Forestry Commission and partly by the Ministry of Justice, which wants to site two 410-feet high wind turbines there, but the Forestry Commission has a policy of not objecting to schemes put forward by Government Departments unless there is a specific operational reason. Will the Secretary of State tell me who is responsible for evaluating the suitability and impact of these proposals on such sensitive sites?

[Mrs Spelman]

Natural England is responsible for the SSSI. The land in question, on which it is proposed that the wind turbines should be built, is not managed by the Forestry Commission; it manages land adjacent to it. It has studied the proposal and the environmental assessment and assessed that the application will not impact on land it manages or owns.