Asked by: James MacCleary (Liberal Democrat - Lewes)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, if she will make an assessment of the potential merits of introducing legislation to require landlords to work with councils to bring decontaminated land back into use.
Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
The National Planning Policy Framework makes clear that substantial weight should be given to the value of using suitable brownfield land within settlements in planning policies and decisions, and that opportunities should be taken to remediate despoiled, degraded, derelict, contaminated or unstable land.
As part of our recent consultation on reforms to the Framework, we set out proposals to broaden the existing definition of brownfield land, set a strengthened expectation that applications on brownfield land will be approved, and make clear that plans should promote an uplift in density in urban areas. On 22 September we published a ‘brownfield passport’ policy paper inviting views on how we might further prioritise and fast-track building on previously used urban land.
Asked by: James MacCleary (Liberal Democrat - Lewes)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, if she will make an assessment of the potential merits of giving local councils compulsory purchase powers for stalled development sites with planning permission.
Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
Local authorities already have various compulsory purchase powers to acquire and develop land which could include stalled development sites with planning permission. The Government is keen for authorities to make greater use of their compulsory purchase powers to support the regeneration and growth of their areas where appropriate, provided there is a compelling case in the public interest. To assist local authorities in using their powers, this Government has recently published updated guidance on the compulsory purchase process reforms introduced by the Levelling-up and Regeneration Act 2023. This can be found at here.