My Lords, I am grateful to my noble friend for tabling these amendments and giving me the opportunity to set out the Government’s position.
Turning first to Amendment 48ZE, I have noted my noble friend’s comments, both here and in Committee, and share his opinion on the unique role of the City of London. As I said in Committee, I know the City of London well. It is a world-leading financial and business centre, as we all know, and central to the health of our nation’s economy. It plays a key role in promoting growth and, as my noble friend has said, faces particular challenges in delivering new development in a complex, densely developed, urban and historic environment—challenges that it meets with admirable results, as I am sure all noble Lords would agree.
In bringing forward our proposals to enable business and commercial schemes to benefit from the nationally significant infrastructure regime, we have sought to strike a careful balance between the need to respect existing procedures within the planning system—where these work effectively—alongside developing a simple and consistent approach for dealing with development which is potentially nationally significant.
In seeking to strike that balance, we have considered the particular circumstances of London and, of course, the planning roles of the mayor, the City and other local planning authorities in London. That is why we have included a provision requiring the mayor’s consent before a direction is issued that a project in Greater London can be considered through the infrastructure planning regime. If the mayor does not think a project
should be directed into the regime, the application will be dealt with under normal Town and Country Planning Act procedures.
I know that officials have met with the City of London and I have already alluded to local planning authorities in London, and the views of the Corporation of London are recognised within that. As representations are made, certainly with the Mayor of London as well, those representations would be given due consideration.
Among other respondents, the City of London has also raised detailed comments on the thresholds proposed in the consultation paper, as my noble friend mentioned. We are currently considering the responses that we have received, including those from the City of London. I reinforce the point that I set out in Committee, as my noble friend noted, that the thresholds set out in the consultation document were not intended by themselves to signify whether a project was, or was not, of national significance. The thresholds were intended to be a gateway to the Secretary of State’s direction process. On any request for a direction, the Secretary of State would have to consider the details and circumstances of the particular project. With this in mind, and in light of the existing requirement in the legislation for the Mayor of London’s consent to be obtained for London projects, we do not consider that at this stage it is desirable to add to the primary legislation as envisaged by this amendment.
A further qualification in the Bill would add unnecessary complexity, which runs counter to our objective of simplifying and streamlining procedure. We will also be prescribing the types of development in regulations, which will of course be subject to the affirmative procedure. Your Lordships will therefore have another opportunity to consider the types of development, in London and elsewhere, that might be directed into the infrastructure planning regime.
Turning now to my noble friend’s amendment on business improvement districts, it may help if I briefly say a few words about how business improvement districts operate. A business improvement district is a defined geographical area within which the businesses agree to pay a levy that is used to enhance the local trading environment. More than 100 such schemes have been introduced in England in the past decade and the Government consider business improvement districts to be an important tool in the current economic climate for promoting the localism agenda and local growth. The importance of business improvement districts was recognised in both the Portas review itself and the Government’s response to it.
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Business improvement districts are usually promoted by a business improvement district company set up to act on behalf of local businesses and local public bodies as considered appropriate by the proposer. I understand that the purpose of this amendment is to ensure that a local authority can act alone to propose a business improvement district. However, there is no doubt that the secondary legislation, which gives effect to business improvement district arrangements, allows local authorities to promote business improvement
districts. Regulation 3(1)(b) of the Business Improvement Districts (England) Regulations 2004 clearly states that the relevant billing authority may draw up business improvement district proposals. Nor is there a requirement in the legislation for an authority to set up a separate business improvement district company. Therefore, we are not yet persuaded that any changes to the regulations are needed.
However, since the business improvement district arrangements are contained in regulations made in secondary legislation, it would not be necessary to introduce new primary legislation to make changes to those regulations. We could do so using the powers that already exist in the Local Government and Housing Act 1989 and Local Government Act 2003. I would be more than happy to meet my noble friend to discuss his concerns in more detail and to make sure that we have understood them specifically and correctly. As my officials are already looking at other aspects of the legislation relating to business improvement districts, following the recommendations made by the Portas review, there will be further opportunities to amend the legislation. I therefore hope that, based on my assurances and the offer to meet with my noble friend to discuss his concerns in more detail, my noble friend will be minded not to press his amendments.