Asked by: Fiona Bruce (Conservative - Congleton)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what the role is of housing needs assessments within local plans.
Answered by Brandon Lewis
Our planning guidance is clear that a Strategic Housing Market Assessment is just the first stage in developing a Local Plan and councils can take account of constraints which indicate that development should be restricted. I wrote to the Chief Executive of the Planning Inspectorate on 19 December to ensure our policy is clearly understood. A copy of the letter can be found at: www.gov.uk/government/publications/strategic-housing-market-assessments and I attach a copy to this answer.