Commons Sense

House of Commons · Ministers' Questions

Land Banking

Monday 21 November 2022 · 2 questions

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

Read the full transcript on Parliament.uk

At a glance

Answered 2 Partly answered 0 Not answered 0

Key points

  • Ministerial Department is taking steps to tackle land banking through the Levelling up and Regeneration Bill.
  • Developers will be required to notify local authorities when development starts and powers to serve completion notices will be streamlined.
  • The duty to co-operate will be abolished and replaced with more flexible policy requirements to encourage development on brownfield sites.

Topics (select to filter)

Questions & Answers

Q1 Luke Evans Con Hinckley and Bosworth
Housing
Context

Property developers often obtain planning permission but do not start construction, leading to land banking. This issue is exacerbated in areas like Hinckley and Bosworth where outdated local plans create vulnerabilities for speculative development.

Question

What steps his Department is taking to tackle land banking by property developers and encourage development. Too often, planning permission is granted and building work simply does not start. This issue affects areas with outdated local plans and significant pressure on green spaces due to a lack of coordinated urban expansion.

Answer from Lucy Frazer

Through the Levelling up and Regeneration Bill, developers will be required to notify local authorities when development starts, and powers to serve completion notices will be streamlined. Housing developers must now report annually on delivery, allowing local authorities to decline determining applications from non-compliant developers.

Answered
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Q2 Luke Evans Con Hinckley and Bosworth
Housing Local Government
Context

Areas like Hinckley and Bosworth face challenges due to outdated local plans and a lack of coordinated urban expansion with neighboring areas, leading to speculative development and pressure on green spaces.

Question

I am grateful for the Minister's answer. This issue is important for areas such as mine, where we do not have an up-to-date local plan because the Lib Dem borough council has not sorted it. That leads to a vulnerability in our community to speculative development. Coupling that with the duty to co-operate with Leicester city, which is not building up and out either, results in huge amounts of pressure on our countryside and green spaces.

Answer from Lucy Frazer

The Levelling Up and Regeneration Bill recognises that the duty to co-operate is too stringent a test. The duty will be abolished and replaced by more flexible policy requirements, allowing local areas to build on brownfield sites.

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