Asked by: Theresa Villiers (Conservative - Chipping Barnet)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to the Answer of 9 December 2021 to Question 87625, on Transport for London: Property Transfer, what criteria he plans to apply for his decision on the application submitted by Transport for London under section 163 of the Greater London Authority Act 1999 to dispose of operational land at Cockfosters tube station.
Answered by Trudy Harrison
This matter is currently under consideration and therefore it would not be appropriate to comment on this specific application. The Secretary of State’s consideration of section 163 applications is in line with the relevant sections of the Greater London Authority Act 1999 and other legal requirements such as those under the Equality Act 2010.
The Secretary of State’s consideration will include whether operational land is no longer required by Transport for London for discharging its functions. The Secretary of State may also consider whether an application would impact their ability to implement national policies relating to transport affecting any area outside of Greater London.
Asked by: Theresa Villiers (Conservative - Chipping Barnet)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to the Answer of 9 December 2021 to Question 87625, on Transport for London: Property Transfer, whether he plans to undertake a public consultation in respect of his decision on the application submitted by Transport for London under under section 163 of the Greater London Authority Act 1999 to dispose of operational land at Cockfosters Underground Station.
Answered by Trudy Harrison
The application at Cockfosters Underground Station is still under consideration. Section 163 applications are submitted by TfL and as part of this process, the Secretary of State is informed of any public consultation that has been undertaken. This forms part of the Secretary of State’s consideration as to whether operational land is no longer required by TfL for discharging its functions, as per the requirements under section 163 of the Greater London Authority Act 1999.
Asked by: Theresa Villiers (Conservative - Chipping Barnet)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to the Answer of 9 December 2021 to Question 87625, on Transport for London: Property Transfer, if he will place in the Library a copy of the application submitted by Transport for London under section 163 of the Greater London Authority Act 1999 to dispose of operational land at Cockfosters Underground Station.
Answered by Trudy Harrison
The application relating to Cockfosters Underground Station is still under consideration. It would not therefore be appropriate to publish a copy of the application submitted by Transport for London in the House of Commons Library at this time.
Asked by: Theresa Villiers (Conservative - Chipping Barnet)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to the Answer of 9 December 2021 to Question 87625, on Transport for London: Property Transfer, if he will set out his reasons for approving the applications submitted by Transport for London under section 163 of the Greater London Authority Act 1999 to dispose of operational land at (a) Arnos Grove Underground Station in 2020-2021, (b) Canons Park Underground Station in 2019, (c) Rayners Lane Underground Station in 2019 and (d) Stanmore Underground Station in 2019.
Answered by Trudy Harrison
The Secretary of State granted consent to the application at Arnos Grove Underground Station based on TfL’s application and the consideration as to whether the operational land was no longer required by TfL for discharging its functions. This is in line with the requirements under section 163 of the Greater London Authority Act. The applications relating to Canons Park, Rayners Lane and Stanmore Underground stations were consented to by the previous Secretary of State, in accordance with the same requirements.
Asked by: Theresa Villiers (Conservative - Chipping Barnet)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if he will ensure that no additional funding provided to Transport for London is used to fund projects to build over station car parks.
Answered by Trudy Harrison
Transport in London is devolved and the responsibility of the Mayor and Transport for London (TfL). It remains the responsibility of the Mayor to make planning decisions, including on station car parks, as part of his wider transport strategy.
Asked by: Theresa Villiers (Conservative - Chipping Barnet)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, with reference to the Prime Minister's announcement of 21 November 2021 that all new homes must include electric charging points, whether the costs of installing those charging points are to be met by housebuilders.
Answered by Trudy Harrison
The Prime Minister recently announced that new buildings with associated parking such as homes, supermarkets and workplaces, as well as those undergoing major renovation, will be required to install electric vehicle charge points from next year under new legislation to help ensure a smooth transition to electric vehicles.
We expect that the cost of installing a chargepoint in the first instance will fall on the property owner or developer. In order to ensure developers do not incur excessive costs for installing chargepoints, we have introduced an exemption for new residential properties where the installation of a chargpoint would increase grid connection costs by more than £3,600 (although cable routes will still be required). We expect developers will be able to benefit from economies of scale by purchasing charging infrastructure in bulk. This policy will reduce the overall costs of installing chargepoints in homes and avoiding potentially costly retrofitting in the future for consumers and developers.
Asked by: Theresa Villiers (Conservative - Chipping Barnet)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, with reference to the letter from his Department to the hon. Member for Chipping Barnet dated 17 November 2021 regarding the proposals by the Mayor of London to build over a number of station car parks, what permissions he has granted to the Mayor of London in each of the last five years to dispose of Transport for London property in the boroughs of (a) Barnet, (b) Enfield and (c) Harrow.
Answered by Trudy Harrison
Under section 163 of the Greater London Authority Act 1999, Transport for London is able, with the consent of the Secretary of State, to dispose of any of its property which in the opinion of the Mayor is not required by Transport for London for the purposes of discharging any of its functions. It is not for the Department for Transport involve itself in local planning decisions.
In the last five years, the Secretary of State for Transport has consented to applications submitted by Transport for London under section 163 of the Greater London Authority Act 1999 to dispose of operational land at Arnos Grove Underground Station in the London borough of Enfield (2020 - 2021); and at Canons Park Underground Station, Rayners Lane Underground Station and Stanmore Underground Station in the London borough of Harrow (2019).
The Secretary of State is currently reviewing an application submitted by Transport for London relating to Cockfosters Underground Station (application submitted in May 2021).
Asked by: Theresa Villiers (Conservative - Chipping Barnet)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, with reference to the Prime Minister's announcement of 21 November 2021 that all new homes must include electric charging points, what steps he will take to ensure new homes without on-site parking bays have access to parking spaces with charging points.
Answered by Trudy Harrison
This policy applies not only to new homes but also to new or existing buildings undergoing major renovation. This will help ensure drivers without off-street parking at home charge have access to a range of charging options and can charge conveniently as they go about their lives at offices and shops.
Alongside these regulations the Government is investing over £1.3 billion to accelerate the roll out of charging infrastructure, targeting support on rapid chargepoints on motorways and major A roads to dash any anxiety around long journeys, and supporting the installation of chargepoints near homes and workplaces to make charging easier than refuelling a petrol or diesel car. This includes the £20m per year On-Street Residential Chargepoint Scheme (ORCS) which is available to all UK local authorities to provide public chargepoints for their residents without access to private parking. The ORCS has so far awarded funding to over 135 different local authorities, to install more than 4,600 chargepoints for residents who do not have off-street parking.
Government and industry have supported the installation of over 26,000 publicly available charging devices, including more than 4,900 rapid devices – one of the largest networks in Europe.
Asked by: Theresa Villiers (Conservative - Chipping Barnet)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, with reference to the Prime Minister's announcement of 21 November 2021 that all new homes must include electric charging points, whether that policy applies to properties which already have planning permission but which have not yet been built.
Answered by Trudy Harrison
This requirement is triggered by building notices under the Building Regulations regime rather than planning permission. Properties which have their initial building notices or full plans deposited by the coming into force date will not be legally required to meet the new regulations. However, they must begin building work by no later than 12 months after the coming into force date, otherwise the new regulations will need to be met. This applies to all work under the same building notice/plans. This is the typical way that transitional arrangements have been applied in the past.
Asked by: Theresa Villiers (Conservative - Chipping Barnet)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, with reference to the Prime Minister's announcement of 21 November 2021 that all new homes must include electric charging points, whether that policy applies to properties without designate onsite parking spaces.
Answered by Trudy Harrison
This policy will ensure that new and existing buildings undergoing major renovation which have associated parking within the site boundary will have a chargepoint. Alongside these regulations the Government is investing over £1.3 billion to accelerate the roll out of charging infrastructure, targeting support on rapid chargepoints on motorways and major A roads to dash any anxiety around long journeys, and supporting the installation of chargepoints near homes and workplaces to make charging easier than refuelling a petrol or diesel car. This includes the £20m per year On-Street Residential Chargepoint Scheme (ORCS) which is available to all UK local authorities to provide public chargepoints for their residents without access to private parking. The ORCS has so far awarded funding to over 135 different local authorities, to install more than 4,600 chargepoints for residents who do not have off-street parking.