Domenic Donatantonio,
Planning,
18 July 2008
Climate change minister Joan Ruddock will launch an investigation into claims that the South West regional spatial strategy contains no biodiversity elements.
Speaking at the Commons environmental audit committee this week, Ruddock admitted that "there could be imperfections in lots of places in a regional strategy". She was being challenged over the habitat omission by Liberal Democrat environment spokesman Martin Horwood.
He maintained that plans he has seen for the South West contain maps for housing and a great number of warehouses, but have no biodiversity measures.
In response, Ruddock said she will personally investigate the plans as it is "entirely reasonable" that there should be concern over biodiversity provision.
The minister praised the efforts of 26 councils in England and Wales - representing five per cent of authorities - that have taken up biodiversity as one of their chosen indicators. "The figure is quite an achievement and not a bad statistic," she claimed.
However, Ruddock dismissed Horwood's suggestion that ten per cent of cash accrued from the proposed community infrastructure levy (CIL) be ring-fenced for spending on green schemes.
"We would not want to do that at the moment. Decisions on the CIL money will be taken at local level and not by central government," she insisted. She added that DEFRA is renewing a countryside survey of biodiversity needs in the autumn.
