Speeches

Lord Kennedy of Southwark – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Kennedy of Southwark on 2015-11-19.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the changes there have been to structures on the River Thames in the last 10 years.

Baroness Williams of Trafford

Town Planning is the responsibility of London’s boroughs, with a strategic role for the Mayor of London. In this capacity the Mayor has produced a London View Management Framework, which seeks to protect London’s most important views, including along the Thames, from inappropriate development. The Government intends, through the Housing and Planning Bill, to devolve further powers to the Mayor of London over safeguarded wharves and protected vistas to enable him to better manage development on the Thames. Furthermore, the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government retains call in powers, which he can use to prevent development that would harm any of the three World Heritage Sites that are adjacent to the Thames.