Commons Sense

House of Commons · Ministers' Questions

New Housing Developments: Community Consultation

Monday 29 November 2021 · 3 questions

Summarised by AI from the official record, so it can contain mistakes.

Read the full transcript on Parliament.uk

At a glance

Answered 0 Partly answered 3 Not answered 0

Key points

  • Ministerial Questions focused on new housing developments and community consultation.
  • Stuart Anderson asked about enhancing public engagement through consultations and developer contributions.
  • Clive Betts suggested simplifying the local plan system to increase resident involvement digitally.

Topics (select to filter)

Questions & Answers

Q1 Stuart Anderson Con South Shropshire
Housing Local Government
Context

Concern over local communities' influence on new housing developments and the need for effective consultations.

Question

I am concerned about ensuring that local communities are consulted effectively in the planning process for new housing developments. Public engagement through consultations is already required, but what steps are being taken to enhance this?

Answer from Christopher Pincher

Developer contributions can often be slow to arrive or not as expected. We want to put more power in the hands of local authorities and communities, and our infrastructure levy will provide greater transparency and certainty for communities about important infrastructure.

Partly answered

Not addressed: Specific steps to ensure residents' say over developer contributions were not detailed

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Q2 Stuart Anderson Con South Shropshire
Housing Local Government
Context

Further concern over local communities' influence on developer contributions and the need for effective consultations.

Question

I welcome the Minister's response, but what steps will be taken to ensure that residents have more of a say over the influence of developer contributions in their communities?

Answer from Christopher Pincher

Developer contributions can often be slow or not as expected. We want to put more power in the hands of local authorities and communities, and our infrastructure levy will provide greater transparency and certainty for communities about important infrastructure.

Partly answered

Not addressed: Specific steps to ensure residents' say over developer contributions were not detailed

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Q3 Clive Betts Lab Sheffield South East
Housing Local Government
Context

Concern over the need for a planning system that respects democratic rights while getting homes built.

Question

There is a desire across the House for a planning system that gets homes built but also recognises the democratic rights of local residents. May I suggest dropping zonal proposals and simplifying the local plan system to allow more resident involvement, considering digital proposals?

Answer from Christopher Pincher

We want an engaging process with digitisation to help. Currently, about 1% of the community engages in local plan making and 2-3% in individual planning applications.

Partly answered

Not addressed: Specifics on dropping zonal proposals or presumption favouring applications were not addressed

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