Asked by: Julian Smith (Conservative - Skipton and Ripon)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities, and Local Government, whether historical lead mining activities are considered when approving new housing targets.
Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
The proposed methodology to calculate local housing need figures for each local authority, is set out in the ‘Proposed reforms to the National Planning Policy Framework and other changes to the planning system’ consultation documents. These can be found at gov.uk.
National planning policy makes clear that constraints on land availability, which could include risks arising from former activities such as mining, should be taken into account by local authorities when establishing a housing requirement for their area. Local authorities are expected to evidence and justify their approach through local plan consultation and examination.