Housing: New Developments Debate
Full Debate: Read Full DebateBaroness Prashar
Main Page: Baroness Prashar (Crossbench - Life peer)Department Debates - View all Baroness Prashar's debates with the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government
(3 years, 2 months ago)
Lords ChamberMy noble friend is right that we should focus on sustainable communities, not just the drive for volume and more housing. It is important to strike a balance between enabling vital development, including building the homes we need more quickly, and continuing to protect and enhance the natural and built environment.
My Lords, the Town and Country Planning Association has raised concerns that bypassing meaningful input from local bodies, councillors and the public, and delivering homes through permitted development rights, undermines public support for new housing. Does the Minister agree that, by continuing to expand the delivery of homes through PDR, the Government are undermining their own stated goal of making the planning process more democratic?
My Lords, I point out that permitted development rights have enabled us to deliver a net additional 72,000 homes in the last five years and make an important contribution to the planning system. Our planning reforms are all designed to get effective community engagement at the front end of the process.