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• Question by: Steve O'Connell
• Meeting date: 21 July 2010

Around the same theme on planning controls; in the prospective Green Paper we have talked about third party planning appeals. I think we will recognise that there is an imbalance in the planning system whereby only a developer can appeal against and the residents cannot. I think we all tend to agree that that is a grotesque imbalance that needs addressing. The Open Source document did put some thoughts around that and I would like your amplification on it as well. It seemed to me that it is a very good point to address, but the Open Source document talked...

• Question by: Gareth Bacon MP
• Meeting date: 21 July 2010

): I want to talk to you about garden grabbing. Firstly, I would like to thank you and the Government for re categorising gardens as green land rather than brown land, primarily because, the previous designation, taken into account with the need to drive housing targets, has led developers to change the character and nature of boroughs like mine, which you are very familiar with, against the wishes of local people. We are very, very pleased and encouraged that Government have echoed the Mayor's sentiments in terms of trying to put a stop to this. It could be too early...

• Question by: Richard Barnbrook
• Meeting date: 21 July 2010

Minister, you mention quite specifically about the devolution of the coalition and also a reduction of quangos. Where does the Thames Gateway Corporation fit in to this new planning?

• Question by: Richard Tracey
• Meeting date: 21 July 2010

One historically controversial area has been the sale of school playing fields by local authorities for development. What sort of controls are you going to keep over that because the public do have some very strong feelings about it?

• Question by: Nicky Gavron
• Meeting date: 21 July 2010

My first point is that in thinking abut the London Plan in relation to boroughs and in relation to the point made by Roger Evans about consultation, I think if one is not very careful, the time will be taken up with consultation. That is what takes time - consulting. I just want to point out that we had nearly 1,000 responses to this London Plan, which is three times as many as the previous London Plan, which shows that something is working around consultation. The second point is a strategic point. It is really important for us to be...

• Question by: Murad Qureshi
• Meeting date: 21 July 2010

Minister, there is quite a geographical expansion of the Mayor's powers with the Port of London Authority (PLA), going into the Thames Estuary. I just wanted to know whether it was the intention, or is the intention, to get the Mayor involved in planning issues to deal with wind farms, changing shipping channels or even airports. Is that the thrust of this? I just want to know where we are going with this.

• Question by: Roger Evans
• Meeting date: 21 July 2010

I just want to put on the record for the purpose of the minutes that there is substantial agreement around this table on a lot of the points that are being raised. We agree that the MPA should be following an LFEPA model; we agree that strategies should be subject to rejection by the Assembly on a two thirds majority and we agree that bodies should have elected representation on them if possible rather than being entirely appointed. Something else we would like to see is more cases of ministers being accountable to this body and coming to give evidence...

• Question by: Jennette Arnold OBE
• Meeting date: 21 July 2010

I have got a question about planning and the historic environment. We are just running out of time so I think the best way forward, Bob, is if I could invite you to join me in visiting the historic site of Shakespeare's first theatre. This is not in south London as people would think, but in Shoreditch. Why I would like you to do that is that you will then see the importance about planning at a local level, but also the need for some assurance to be given that a site like that could be preserved. I am just...