• Question by: Darren Johnson
• Meeting date: 07 December 2005

This does not seem to take account of the latest thinking and the flood risk hierarchy, which is now in planning policy. It seems to be: cram as much in and build bigger and bigger defences rather than taking a far more sophisticated view and taking account of the flood risk hierarchy.

• Question by: Jennette Arnold OBE
• Meeting date: 07 December 2005

Could I come back and say, within the Olympic Park, whose 106 is that now that the LDA has purloined it?

• Question by: Jenny Jones
• Meeting date: 07 December 2005

One of the methods that you could accommodate this flood risk is through the Green Grid. Now, I am not seeing any movement on this. I am not seeing the finance in place. I am not seeing, in any serious way, that you are actually going to put that in place.

• Question by: Darren Johnson
• Meeting date: 07 December 2005

I am pleased you welcome it. Are you going to take on Board the specific amendments that are proposed in the Strategic Flood Risk Assessment, including the proposal that any new development contribute to an overall reduction in flood risk?

• Question by: Andrew Pelling
• Meeting date: 07 December 2005

I wanted to react to a point that Jenny Jones (AM) made and to then ask a question because I feel very disheartened that she feels that nothing is happening, as Jenny said, on Green Grids, particularly when Darren (Johnson, AM) told me during the budgetary process that agreement with the Mayor would get things done rather than agreement with the Assembly on the budgetary process. Is Jenny right when she says that nothing is being done on Green Grid?

• Question by: Darren Johnson
• Meeting date: 07 December 2005

Will there be no revision of targets? Are you ruling that out now in the light of testing the assessment?

• Question by: Darren Johnson
• Meeting date: 07 December 2005

Following the finding of the Strategic Flood Risk Assessment that more than half the sites identified in the Thames Gateway area and in the investment framework database are in high-risk flood areas, will the targets for the number of homes and businesses be reassessed in the light of this, and will the targets be rigorously tested against the flood risk assessment?

• Question by: Darren Johnson
• Meeting date: 07 December 2005

Finally, a question on flood defences. These are obviously expensive. The cost of replacing the Thames frontage is estimated around £8,000 a square metre. Are you confident that Section 106 Agreements can be used to fund both flood defences in the Thames Gateway area and the other social, environmental improvements that you would expect?

• Question by: Jennette Arnold OBE
• Meeting date: 07 December 2005

This is a specific question, and Darren (Johnson, AM) and I are dealing with an issue at the moment: if a planning application is being sought within a particular borough, say Waltham Forest, are locals to seek their first interaction with the borough planners rather than go to the LDA or go to the GLA? What is the route?

• Question by: Andrew Pelling
• Meeting date: 07 December 2005

It will be very important ' will it not ' if there is a suggestion that the land should be transferred from the LDA to the ODA permanently, that we get the best value from the point of view of London taxpayers, particularly with all the controversy over the costs for the London taxpayer. Can I just ask one other question? The Minister yesterday in the House of Commons said that the LDA had done `a reasonable job in difficult circumstance' in terms of land acquisition. Do you think that was a less than enthusiastic endorsement about what the LDA...