Written question asked by Colin Pickthall (Labour) on Monday, 17 November 2003, in the House of Commons. It was due for an answer on Thursday, 20 November 2003. It was answered by Yvette Cooper (Labour) on Thursday, 20 November 2003 on behalf of the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister.

Office of the Deputy Prime Minister

Question: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister, if he will strengthen the Planning Policy Guidelines to create a presumption against the siting of wind farms in high value landscapes on the perimeter of National Parks. - Inc ref to Draft Planning Policy Statement 22 (PPS22): "Renewable Energy".

Answer: Mr. Pickthall: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister if he will strengthen the Planning Policy Guidelines to create a presumption against the siting of wind farms in high value landscapes on the perimeter of National Parks. [139837] Yvette Cooper: The Government issued Draft Planning Policy Statement 22 (PPS22): "Renewable Energy" for consultation on 5 November. The document sets out the Government's new proposals for the handling of all types of renewable energy projects through the planning system Additional safeguards are included for areas of important landscape and environmental sensitivity such as National Parks. However, local planning authorities should not create "buffer zones" around designated areas and apply blanket policies that prevent the development of renewable energy resources. Instead, planning authorities should set criteria based policies in plans to cover all parts of their area, including high value landscapes on the outside of National Parks. These policies should then be used for assessing any planning applications for renewable energy projects that are brought forward by developers.

Secondary information