Commons Sense

House of Commons · Ministers' Questions

New Housing Developments: Infrastructure

Monday 13 October 2025 · 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 0 Partly answered 2 Not answered 0

Key points

  • Ministerial Questions on New Housing Developments: Infrastructure held on 2025-10-13
  • John Milne requested a meeting with the Minister to discuss legally ensuring key local infrastructure promises are met for 21,000 new houses in Horsham district
  • Anna Dixon asked the Minister to reassure constituents that affordable and social homes will prioritise brownfield sites over green belt areas

Topics (select to filter)

Questions & Answers

Q1 John Milne Lib Dem Horsham
NHS Education Housing
Context

In John Milne's constituency, promises of new schools and clinics have repeatedly been broken by national bodies such as the Department for Education and integrated care boards due to budget constraints.

Question

We have seen promises of new schools and clinics repeatedly broken in my constituency. With 21,000 extra houses just announced by the Chancellor for Horsham district, will the Minister meet me to discuss how we can legally ensure that key local infrastructure promises are met?

Answer from The Minister for Housing and Planning (Matthew Pennycook)

The hon. Gentleman knows that I am always happy to sit down and talk to him about these and other issues. It must be said that when preparing a local plan, planning practice guidance recommends that local planning authorities use available evidence of infrastructure requirements to prepare an infrastructure funding statement. Local authorities are not doing that in all cases, which is why the chief planner wrote to all local planning authorities recently to remind them of their statutory duty to do so.

Partly answered

Not addressed: Did not provide a specific commitment on legal measures for ensuring infrastructure promises are met

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Q2 Anna Dixon Lab Shipley
Housing
Context

New housing developments have been built on the green belt around villages in Shipley without adequate infrastructure such as GP practices, schools and other council services.

Question

In my constituency, new housing developments agreed under the previous Government have been built on the green belt around villages without vital investment in infrastructure. Will the Minister reassure my constituents that as we build much-needed affordable and social homes, we will prioritise brownfield development and ensure adequate investment in the community?

Answer from The Minister for Housing and Planning (Matthew Pennycook)

I can give my hon. Friend that assurance; ours is a brownfield-first policy. She highlights an important point. The previous Government released vast swathes of the green belt in a haphazard and chaotic manner. We are taking a strategic approach to green-belt release, prioritising the release of the lowest-quality grey belt, and we are ensuring that where that happens, subject to our golden rules, we see higher levels of affordable housing and infrastructure.

Partly answered

Not addressed: Did not provide specific assurances on adequate investment in community infrastructure for new developments

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