• Question by: Darren Johnson
• Meeting date: 23 October 2002

I am not just talking about open space; there are other land uses, which are important. Are we going to see no more Spitalfields then where we are seeing the local authority voting to destroy half a historic market for more office space, apparently with your support?

• Question by: Darren Johnson
• Meeting date: 23 October 2002

On this whole question of balance, the London Plan is proposing a huge increase in the amount of office accommodation. That has got to be at the expense of other potential land uses, whether it is open space, housing or other commercial uses.

• Question by: John Biggs
• Meeting date: 23 October 2002

I am sure you will agree with me that Barking town centre is an excellent place to start.

• Question by: John Biggs
• Meeting date: 23 October 2002

I think that is unlikely. The second part of the question, building from that, is that it is vitally important that your SDS does address the suburbs and the non-central London town centres in an effective way. Do you accept that there needs to be more flesh on the bones about how we deal with the problems of places like Barking town centre, Romford town centre and Ilford? You talked about new housing but for that to work we need to get the transport; we need to get the pedestrian-friendly environments; we need to attract decent retailers into those areas...

• Question by: John Biggs
• Meeting date: 23 October 2002

Given that the Tories are trying to present themselves as champions of the suburbs, I thought you let them off rather lightly and I was wondering whether you would reflect on the fact that the greatest damage that has been done to our suburbs was the free-fire permission of out-of-town shopping centres and the failure to invest in public transport over the last generation. I wonder whether the Tory question is a metaphor for their confusion and stuckness, as a party, in the London context here.

• Question by: Sally Hamwee
• Meeting date: 23 October 2002

Are you, with the LDA, looking at evidence of what is happening, co-ordinating bus developments with physical man-planning developments? Because I think it would be very helpful to know what the evidence is showing.

• Question by: Elizabeth Howlett
• Meeting date: 23 October 2002

Without a major increase in public sector investment, surely the whole of the London Plan will have to be reconsidered. Can you implement the London Plan without a major increase in public funding from the Government?

• Question by: Eric Ollerenshaw
• Meeting date: 23 October 2002

Whilst accepting the need to build further affordable housing to attract and retain key workers for London, have you considered the impact your London Plan may have on existing council tenants and estates that are in desperate need of regeneration?

• Question by: Sally Hamwee
• Meeting date: 23 October 2002

Where the bus services have been improved, do you have any evidence yet that that is enabling people to work locally rather than commuting long distances? Because, if improved bus services don't assist in that area, what we are going to see is that people who live in outer London continue to travel into the City and inner East London to take up the jobs.

• Question by: Sally Hamwee
• Meeting date: 23 October 2002

You mentioned the issue of public transport capacity as one of the criteria for density. I think you would accept that accessibility as well as capacity is important. Elsewhere in the Plan, you say that the majority of journeys in the suburbs are likely to continue to be by car. If that is so, and sadly I agree that it is so because we do not see much other than buses by way of public transport development outside the area we know about, do those two statements really lie together? We are going to have more dense development and still...