Oral Answers to Questions

David Johnston Excerpts

Monday 25th October 2021 Commons Chamber

[Julie Marson (Hertford and Stortford) (Con)]

20. What steps he is taking to reform planning rules.

[David Johnston (Wantage) (Con)]

22. What steps he is taking to reform planning rules.

[The Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities (Michael Gove)]

The response to last year’s consultation on the planning White Paper generated significant interest. I am considering all those responses and will make an announcement on next steps in due course.

--- Later in debate ---

[Michael Gove]

My hon. Friend makes a very important point. It is thanks to the work of organisations such as the Hunsdon, Eastwick and Gilston neighbourhood plan group that we involve local communities in making these uniquely sensitive decisions. As we consider our plans for the future, one thing we want to do is to make sure that the voice of local people is integrated more effectively into planning decisions.

[David Johnston]

The two district councils that Wantage and Didcot cover are in the top 10 areas of England for houses built, but in the bottom third for infrastructure. People would be less unhappy with the house building if it came with more GP surgeries, the reopening of Grove station and better roads. Will my right hon. Friend assure me that, as he reforms planning, there will be a greater emphasis on improving infrastructure to support the population that the houses come with?

[Michael Gove]

My hon. Friend makes a very important point. Across the country, many people would welcome new housing development enthusiastically if they had the assurance of knowing that there was sufficient investment in infrastructure to ensure that public services and other utilities were there for them so that additional pressure was not applied unequally. His argument is correct, and it has been incorporated into our thinking about the future of planning reform.