Commons Sense

House of Commons · Westminster Hall

Planning Permission and Housing Need: Wealden

01 March 2022 · 1 other contributor · 4,277 words

Opened by Nusrat Ghani Con Sussex Weald

Responding minister: Stuart Andrew

Housing

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

Read the full transcript on Parliament.uk

At a glance

Nusrat Ghani raised concerns about planning permission and housing need: wealden in Westminster Hall. A government minister responded.

Key points

  • Concerns raised about high housing targets for Wealden District Council based on outdated data and ignoring environmental constraints.
  • The debate highlights Wealden's achievement of an 83% housing delivery test but notes the council faces penalties and lacks infrastructure funding compared to others in East Sussex.
  • Specific asks include making housing targets advisory, linking funding to councils that build homes, and adapting the infrastructure levy to ensure infrastructure precedes home construction.

Key requests to Government

I ask the Minister to make housing targets advisory rather than mandatory, link Government funding to councils that build homes, adapt the proposed infrastructure levy to ensure infrastructure is provided before homes are built, help last-time buyers by examining measures for stamp duty exemptions or reductions, outlaw gazumping, improve schemes for housing associations and Wealden Council's own housing company, have 'use it or lose it' planning permissions, prioritise low-carbon house building, and include permissions granted for new homes in the overall five-year land supply.

How the debate unfolded

MPs spoke in turn to share their views and ask questions. Here's what each person said.

Opened the debate

Nusrat Ghani Con Sussex Weald

I am deeply concerned about the high housing targets for Wealden District Council, which ignore environmental constraints and expect the council to pick up the slack for failing neighbouring councils. The current target of 1,221 new houses each year is based on outdated data and does not reflect the reduced population growth projections. In addition, Wealden has achieved an 83% housing delivery test, but it faces penalties and lacks infrastructure funding compared to other councils in East Sussex.

Other contributors (1)
  • Caroline Ansell Con Eastbourne

    Commends Nusrat Ghani for her campaigning efforts and raises concerns about the pressure Wealden is under due to constraints in Eastbourne, particularly regarding infrastructure development such as GP practices. Caroline questions if it is possible to meet housing numbers without adequate infrastructure.

Government Response

Stuart Andrew

It is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Ms Bardell. I thank my hon. Friend the Member for Wealden (Ms Ghani) for securing this important debate and my hon. Friend the Member for Eastbourne (Caroline Ansell) for her interventions. My hon. Friend described her constituency as a beautiful area and listed the many communities that make it a unique place to live, highlighting the difficulties in delivering houses while maintaining community support. I noted the introduction of a standard method for assessing local housing need in 2018 to simplify and clarify the process, alongside changes to increase housing need by 35% in 20 urban areas in December 2020, with Wealden seeing no change from previous methods. The Government concluded that 2014-based projections would continue to be used for calculating housing targets, emphasizing that lower household projections do not necessarily mean fewer homes needing to be built. Councils decide their own housing requirement based on local need and circumstances, working with neighbouring authorities if necessary. I reassured my hon. Friend the Member for Wealden that the Department will support her council in delivering homes they need, considering the planning system's alignment with the levelling-up agenda. The housing delivery test aims to ensure transparency on actual housing delivery and encourage authorities to focus on supporting deliverable schemes. Developers should build out permissions as quickly as possible, and local authorities and developers must work together at a local level to overcome barriers. Wealden District Council collected over £5 million in community infrastructure levy in 2021, plus over £3.4 million from section 106 agreements. I acknowledged the call for exploring a new infrastructure levy that will be simpler, more transparent and consistent, recognising the importance of timely infrastructure delivery through developer contributions. The Government are considering how best to take forward proposals for changes to the planning system with an announcement on next steps in due course. I also noted concerns about numbers for local authorities reflecting housing need being advisory rather than mandatory, and highlighted the development of an older people's taskforce. The minister invited further constructive debate with Treasury colleagues on a stamp duty reduction for last-time buyers.

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