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Mr. Heald: Does the Minister not appreciate that in the northern part of Hertfordshire, the countryside is protected in two ways? Part of it is protected as prime agricultural land and the other part is protected because it is green belt. It is the easiest thing in the world to say, "We'll have a bit of flexibility here and take a bit of land out of the green belt and allow development on it, but then we'll add a bit more agricultural land to the green belt." One could go on like that for ever and a day, but the fact is that we would end up with more concrete and more houses. The people of north Hertfordshire do not want that.
Mr. Raynsford: The hon. Gentleman seems to ignore the fact that the area of green belt in the county has substantially increased and will increase further.
Mr. Raynsford: Therefore his logic is entirely wrong.
Mr. Heald: What about the countryside?
Mr. Raynsford: The hon. Gentleman has also ignored the way in which the county council has approached the issue, considering thoughtfully and carefully all the issues of sustainability--a concept with which he clearly has difficulty.
Mr. Pollard: Is the Minister aware that in the south-west quadrant of Hertfordshire--the area that I represent--we have more or less wall-to-wall housing and are allowing development on hospital sites? Should not other parts of Hertfordshire--the areas that we are talking about tonight--bear their fair share of the increased demand for housing?
Mr. Heald: We do not want to end up like you.
Mr. Raynsford: My hon. Friend made a perfectly valid remark and that reply from the hon. Member for
North-East Hertfordshire (Mr. Heald) shows an insensitivity for the concerns of people who live in the same county as him of which he should be heartily ashamed.
Mr. Heald: What the hon. Member for St. Albans (Mr. Pollard) said is true. Some areas in the south-west of the county are very built up. We all appreciate that--but it does not mean that the answer is to make the north of the county so built up that it becomes just the same. That was my point; surely the Minister understands it.
Mr. Raynsford: I am afraid that the hon. Gentleman is once again missing the point about sustainability--and he is showing a disregard for the interests of people in areas that have been subject to intensive development who want some safeguarding of green land, parks and open spaces in their areas to ensure that they, too, have access to the countryside.
Concern for the countryside is not the unique privilege of one section of the community. It is shared widely by all sections of our community, by people who live in towns as well as people who live in the country. It is the Government's commitment to ensure that we have a policy that pursues the interests of the countryside and protects the countryside and green land for people in all areas, not just those who live in the country.
I reaffirm to the House that the Government remain firmly committed to the protection of the countryside and of green belts. We are the first Government ever to consider land use and transport planning together and to take an integrated approach to sustainable development.
We have said before and will say again that the creation of sustainable communities may, in exceptional circumstances, justify taking land from the green belt. We considered that that was the case with the present proposals for development west of Stevenage and Hemel Hempstead. It is our belief that, in those circumstances, and in view of the proposals to extend the green belt elsewhere by 4,600 hectares, it was not appropriate for my right hon. Friend to intervene in the adoption of the Hertfordshire structure plan.
Question put and agreed to.
Adjourned accordingly at twenty-three minutes past Ten o'clock.
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