Asked by: Christopher Chope (Conservative - Christchurch)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, when she plans to make a final decision in response to the consultation on developing a charging model on recovery of operating costs for government-run border control posts in England under Article 81(b) of the retained Official Control Regulations.
Answered by Mark Spencer
A summary of the responses is due to be published in the coming months.
Asked by: Christopher Chope (Conservative - Christchurch)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if she will allow Natural England to extend the Holt and West Moors SSSI to incorporate the adjoining 4.8 acres of Blackfield Farm which Natural England has identified as being of significant importance to flora and fauna.
Answered by Trudy Harrison
Defra ministers have no formal role in the notification of terrestrial Sites of Special Scientific Interest (SSSIs). Notifications are a matter for Natural England and are based on Natural England’s opinion on the evidence for special scientific interest on a site. If Natural England is satisfied that the science supports the proposal to notify the site under Section 28 of the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981, it is under a duty to do so. Natural England must notify all owners and occupiers and inform the local planning authority, Defra Secretary of State and certain public bodies.
Asked by: Christopher Chope (Conservative - Christchurch)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, when he expects Natural England will give a substantive response as a statutory consultee to the planning application submitted by WHWhite Limited to Dorset Council in November 2021 for a surf lagoon on land adjacent to the Avon Heath Country Park in Dorset; and for what reason that response has been delayed.
Answered by Trudy Harrison
Natural England have previously provided pre-application advice to W H White Limited on their Brocks Pine surf lagoon development proposal at Avon Heath Country Park in Dorset in December 2020 both on potential impacts on protected features, as well as suitable avoidance and mitigation measures.
Natural England are also advising the local planning authority (LPA) in their statutory duty to assess the impact of the development on internationally important wildlife both on the site (Dorset Heaths Special Area of Conservation) and on adjoining land (Avon Valley Ramsar site). Details are awaited from other parties to enable the LPA to complete this process.
Asked by: Christopher Chope (Conservative - Christchurch)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, with reference to the Notice by the Secretary of State under section 52 of the National Parks and Access to the Countryside Act 1949: Kimmeridge Bay to Highcliffe, published on 6 April 2022, for what reason he made a decision on the route of the coastal path between Mudeford and Hengistbury Head inconsistent with the recommendation of the Planning Inspector; and what assessment he made of the potential (a) adequacy and (b) effectiveness of the ferry service that had been proposed to form part of that costal path.
Answered by Rebecca Pow
The Planning Inspector concluded that Natural England's proposals do not fail to strike a fair balance in respect of any of the grounds raised in objections to the route between Mudeford and Hengistbury. The Inspector suggested that consideration be given to a modification to make the Christchurch Harbour route a formal alternative route and the ferry service the main route, thereby alleviating the concerns of objectors. The Secretary of State gave due consideration to this option, as per the Planning Inspector’s recommendation, but decided against adopting it.
The ferry service is seasonal and would not provide a continuous route for the England Coast Path. Moreover, the route around Christchurch Harbour will exclusively use existing paths and deliver significant recreational value. Where objections to the Christchurch Harbour route were submitted, the route will follow a public right of way and the land falling within the coastal margin is existing common land; therefore, there will be no material change as a result of the establishment of the England Coast Path.
Overall, following careful consideration, the Secretary of State determined that a route around Christchurch Harbour is consistent with the coastal access duty in the 2009 Act, which sets out the desirability of minimising interruptions to the route, and that the proposed route also follows the approach described in Natural England's approved Coastal Access Scheme.