Asked by: Grant Shapps (Conservative - Welwyn Hatfield)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, whether his Department plans to compensate residents living in the vicinity of proposed new garden cities, towns and villages.
Answered by Lord Barwell
The planning and development control system considers whether a proposal would unacceptably affect amenities and the existing use of land and buildings which ought to be protected in the public interest. Where such matters are material considerations, they must be taken into account and weighed against the merits of the proposed development.
Asked by: Grant Shapps (Conservative - Welwyn Hatfield)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, if he will make an assessment of the potential merits of allowing private firms to construct and run physical infrastructure usually provided by public bodies in the proposed new garden cities, towns and villages.
Answered by Lord Barwell
We are determined that garden cities, towns and villages are underpinned by the right infrastructure at the right time. Garden Cities should be locally led and I stand ready to consider innovative proposals put forward by local areas.
Asked by: Grant Shapps (Conservative - Welwyn Hatfield)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, whether he plans to allow proposed new garden cities, towns and villages to go ahead on the sites of (a) airfields, (b) playing fields and (c) other community spaces.
Answered by Lord Barwell
The principles set out in the National Planning Policy Framework(NPPF) on the location of development in general apply equally to garden cities, towns and villages. The announcement of government support for a garden city, town or village does not in any way pre-judge the planning process. We would expect local authorities to work within the context of the NPPF and of policies set out in their Local Plan, and also ensure that the usual opportunities for interested individuals and groups to engage with these proposals and make representations are provided.
Asked by: Grant Shapps (Conservative - Welwyn Hatfield)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, how his Department plans to measure whether proposed new garden cities, towns and villages are attractive and well-designed; and if he will make a statement.
Answered by Lord Barwell
We do not want to impose a set of design or development principles on communities. We want to support local authorities and communities in developing their own vision for locally-led garden towns and villages, taking account of local plans. We expect to see ambitious proposals that set high standards for design, quality and the provision of green space.
We are working with local areas to establish how best to measure and ensure those ambitions are being delivered.
Asked by: Grant Shapps (Conservative - Welwyn Hatfield)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, how many garden towns of more than 10,000 homes his Department plans to fund in the next 10 years.
Answered by Lord Barwell
We are currently supporting the development of ten new locally led garden communities of more than 10,000 homes at Ebbsfleet, Bicester, Didcot, Basingstoke, Otterpool Park in Kent, Aylesbury, Taunton, Harlow & Gilston, North Essex and North Northamptonshire.
We do not have a pre-set view of how many more garden communities of more than 10,000 homes we may support. We are encouraging local areas to be ambitious and want to see proposals that will provide high quality, transformational housing growth.
Asked by: Grant Shapps (Conservative - Welwyn Hatfield)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what his policy is on how publicly owned physical infrastructure will be planned into the proposed new garden cities, towns and villages.
Answered by Lord Barwell
We are determined that new garden cities, towns and villages are supported by the right infrastructure at the right time. We have committed £15 million of capacity funding to support master planning and key studies to underpin joined up delivery of new housing and infrastructure in the garden cities, towns and villages. Our new £2.3 billion Housing Infrastructure Fund shows just how serious we are about ensuring that infrastructure is in place to support housing growth.
Asked by: Grant Shapps (Conservative - Welwyn Hatfield)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what his policy is on how schools, hospitals, libraries and other public services will be planned into the proposed new garden cities, towns and villages.
Answered by Lord Barwell
We are determined that new garden cities, towns and villages are supported by the right infrastructure at the right time. We have committed £15 million of capacity funding to support master planning and key studies to underpin joined up delivery of new housing and infrastructure in the garden cities, towns and villages. Our new £2.3 billion Housing Infrastructure Fund shows just how serious we are about ensuring that infrastructure is in place to support housing growth.
Asked by: Grant Shapps (Conservative - Welwyn Hatfield)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, whether it is his policy for proposed garden cities, towns and villages to expand indefinitely or be limited to a size at which more stringent planning rules will apply.
Answered by Lord Barwell
Our Locally-led Garden Villages, Towns and Cities prospectus makes clear that the garden villages proposals we support should be free-standing settlements of between 1,500 and 10,000 homes. These though are locally-led proposals and it is for local areas to decide the appropriate number of homes in garden cities, towns or villages over time. Our support for garden cities, towns and villages in no way pre-judges the planning process and, subject to any planning freedoms that may be agreed with individual places, the usual planning rules apply.
Asked by: Grant Shapps (Conservative - Welwyn Hatfield)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, how much has been spent from the public purse on advertising the Government's Own Your Home scheme.
Answered by Marcus Jones - Treasurer of HM Household (Deputy Chief Whip, House of Commons)
The Government is committed to supporting home ownership and the Own Your Home campaign is designed to increase awareness of government home buying schemes amongst first time buyers.
In 2015/2016 spend on the campaign has been approximately £4 million. Activity consisted of radio, press and consumer advertising, out of home on-street bus stop posters, digital and Facebook advertising and a series of 'How to' online videos promoted through You Tube.
On average around 140 people are helped through government home buying schemes every day and over 335,000 households have been helped to buy a property since 2010, through schemes like Help to Buy and the reinvigorated Right to Buy.
Asked by: Grant Shapps (Conservative - Welwyn Hatfield)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, if he will amend his policy on proposed increases to business rates in order to help augment the speed of broadband roll-out.
Answered by Marcus Jones - Treasurer of HM Household (Deputy Chief Whip, House of Commons)
Business rates are based on valuations from the Valuation Office Agency and we do not intervene in their independent assessments. We have proposed a £3.4 billion transitional relief scheme to ensure that no ratepayer is unfairly penalised by the 2017 revaluation.