Lord Bradshaw (LD) [V]:My Lords, I intend to speak about buses. The
Government’s recent proposal, Bus Back Better, is a welcome
spotlight on an industry that has not been the subject of
significant legislation since 1985. The proposals have been broadly
applauded by the Campaign to Protect Rural England the Women’s
Institutes and the APPG representing county councils, all of which
have been calling for action to halt the decline in bus services,
particularly in rural areas. The...Request free trial
(LD) [V]:My Lords, I intend to speak about buses. The
Government’s recent proposal, Bus Back Better, is a welcome
spotlight on an industry that has not been the subject of
significant legislation since 1985. The proposals have been broadly
applauded by the Campaign to Protect Rural England the
Women’s Institutes and the APPG representing county councils, all
of which have been calling for action to halt the decline in bus
services, particularly in rural areas. The expectations raised by
the proposals are high. I received through my door on Saturday a
brochure from the CPRE appealing for money to
press the case for the 56% of small towns it investigated that are
becoming transport deserts or are close to becoming so...
...How much of the available money will be spent on new buses
and how much on the ambitious programme of service improvements?
Organisations such as the CPRE are anticipating hourly
services from small towns, giving access to jobs, hospitals, shops,
leisure facilities, education facilities and other amenities
throughout the day. There is the question of timescales, with bus
improvement plans beginning in October, when many newly elected
councils will not meet to consider the matter until July. There are
competition issues to be resolved, and the role of the traffic
commissioners. Some highway works will be necessary, as well as
some new bus priority measures...
(CB) [V]:...I turn to the proposed planning
reforms and the opportunity that they provide to utilise brownfield
land—land that requires remedial treatment to remove contamination
and render it safe. There is lots of it sitting in plum locations
throughout England that would be ideal for new housing.
CPRE research has found 21,000
registered contaminated sites covering more than 50,000 acres, with
capacity for more than 1 million new homes. Last year’s planning
White Paper expects these brownfield sites to be utilised fully
before more edge-of-town development on greenfield is considered,
but that was buried on page 32, which was not encouraging. The
difficulty is that the cost of cleaning up these sites often
exceeds their market value following remediation. However, we must
not turn a blind eye and ignore these urban eyesores that blight
our towns and cities...
(Lab):...In this case, was absolutely right and many others agree with her. The
Bill is described by the CPRE as a descent into the dark
ages of planning. It means the end of the Section 106 agreements,
which my noble friend referred to, and fewer mechanisms for
ensuring that affordable housing targets are met. Unless the Bill
is changed, it will not build faster, better or greener. I am
afraid I can assure the Minister that it will have a lively passage
through this House...
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