Asked by: Gordon Henderson (Conservative - Sittingbourne and Sheppey)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, what steps he is taking to help prevent the practice of people avoiding enforcement action by submitting repeated retrospective planning applications for the same development in the event that previous retrospective applications for that development have been refused.
Answered by Stuart Andrew - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
A person who has undertaken unauthorised development has only one opportunity to obtain planning permission after the event. This can either be by means of a retrospective planning application or by means of an appeal against an enforcement notice.
The local planning authority can decline to determine a retrospective planning application if an enforcement notice has previously been issued.
Asked by: Gordon Henderson (Conservative - Sittingbourne and Sheppey)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what steps is he taking to improve the regulation of Approved Inspectors in the building industry.
Answered by Esther McVey - Minister without Portfolio (Cabinet Office)
Approved Inspectors are an important part of the future system proposed by Dame Judith Hackitt’s Independent Review of the Building Regulations and Fire Safety System. In line with Dame Judith’s recommendations, the Government will end the ability of a developer to choose which building control body oversees the construction of higher-risk buildings. We are working with the Joint Regulators Group and representatives of Approved Inspectors to identify the best way to achieve this while retaining sufficient regulatory capability and capacity under the new system. The Department will also commission a review of the future role of the Approved Inspectors under the new regime.
Asked by: Gordon Henderson (Conservative - Sittingbourne and Sheppey)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, pursuant to the Answer of 28 January 2018 to Question 908852, what assessment he has made of the effect of plans for increased housing in Swale on access to primary health care in that area.
Answered by Kit Malthouse
The revised National Planning Policy Framework requires local planning authorities to set clearer policy requirements for infrastructure and community facilities through plans, informed by evidence on infrastructure need and cost and viability assessments. At an early stage in the plan-making process, authorities will need to work alongside infrastructure providers, including healthcare providers, to identify requirements, and opportunities for addressing them.
It is understood that Swale Borough Council are updating their Local Plan. Once submitted, it will be examined by an independent Inspector. In testing the soundness of a plan, Inspectors assess whether sufficient provision is made for community facilities such as health infrastructure.
Asked by: Gordon Henderson (Conservative - Sittingbourne and Sheppey)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
What steps he is taking to ensure that adequate infrastructure is put in place to support the proposed increase in housing in the Swale borough council area.
Answered by James Brokenshire
We will engage with Highways England and Swale Council to explore ways forward. We are already providing £3.5 million to provide local infrastructure for Swale, and we are working with Kent County Council to develop their proposals for larger, strategic infrastructure.
Asked by: Gordon Henderson (Conservative - Sittingbourne and Sheppey)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
What steps his Department is taking to reduce the time taken to build new homes.
Answered by Heather Wheeler
New homes should be built out as soon as possible once planning permission is granted. Under this Government, new house building starts are at their highest levels for nine years – we are building on progress by revising the National Planning Policy Framework, diversifying the market to increase the pace of development, and have commissioned my Rt Hon Friend, the member for West Dorset, to lead a review of build out rates.
Asked by: Gordon Henderson (Conservative - Sittingbourne and Sheppey)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, with reference to his Department's call for evidence on protecting consumers in the letting and managing agent market, published in October 2017, for what reasons extending rights to freeholders was not included in that publication.
Answered by Alok Sharma - COP26 President (Cabinet Office)
My Department's consultation ‘Tackling unfair practices in the leasehold market’, which closed on 19 September, sought views on whether the Government should promote solutions to provide freeholders equivalent rights to leaseholders, to challenge the suitability of service charges for the maintenance of communal areas and facilities on a private estate. The Government will respond in due course.
Asked by: Gordon Henderson (Conservative - Sittingbourne and Sheppey)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, if he will introduce legislative proposals to grant freeholders the right to remove property management companies from new developments.
Answered by Lord Barwell
If a freeholder is unhappy with the services provided by a management company they can, with their neighbours, collectively approach the company and ask it to sell the freehold of any communal areas. This is a matter of negotiation between both interested parties. There are currently no plans to allow a right in law for freeholders to enforce a purchase. We will continue to monitor the situation.
Asked by: Gordon Henderson (Conservative - Sittingbourne and Sheppey)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, whether the Government plans to bring forward proposals in the Neighbourhood and Planning and Infrastructure Bill to remove the requirement for developers to carry out archaeological and wildlife surveys before starting housing projects.
Answered by Brandon Lewis
There are no plans to change a Local Authority's ability to propose conditions that meet the policy tests in the National Planning Policy Framework; including conditions related to archaeology and wildlife. The Neighbourhood Planning and Infrastructure Bill will include measures to ensure that pre-commencement planning conditions are only imposed where they are absolutely necessary.
Asked by: Gordon Henderson (Conservative - Sittingbourne and Sheppey)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what steps his Department is taking to support smaller building firms in building high-quality new homes.
Answered by Brandon Lewis
We have put in place a number of initiatives to help smaller builders to build more homes and grow their businesses including the Housing Growth Fund and Builders’ Finance Fund. A new £1 billion short-term housing development fund, announced at Autumn Statement, will be launched in the Spring.