Question to the Ministry of Defence:

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, with reference to the non-military development agreement between the Republic of Cyprus and the Government that applies to the sovereign base areas, what environmental assessment was undertaken when that agreement was signed in 2014.

An environmental assessment was not conducted, when the high-level Non-Military Development (NMD) agreement was signed in 2014. Following the development of the Planning Policy Statement and the Proposed Zoning, a Strategic Environmental Impact Assessment and an Environmental Appropriate Assessment has since been conducted. The Environment Department of the Republic of Cyprus is currently considering both of these assessments. The Sovereign Base Areas Administration is now awaiting a written opinion on these environmental matters, before moving to the next stage of the NMD programme.