Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Kit Malthouse and Nigel Mills

Monday 4th March 2019 Commons Chamber

[Nigel Mills (Amber Valley) (Con)]

Amber Valley Borough Council is holding a planning meeting tonight on building 2,000 houses on the green belt across a number of sites. Can the Minister confirm that that should be a last resort and that the council has to show exceptional circumstances for each site before it does that?

[Kit Malthouse]

My hon. Friend is exactly right. The green belt should only be used in exceptional circumstances, after local authorities have demonstrated that they have exhausted all other options, including the use of brownfield, co-operating with their neighbours and looking at further density in their developments. We strengthened protections for the green belt in the national planning policy framework published in July 2018, and that should be a last resort.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Kit Malthouse and Nigel Mills

Monday 23rd July 2018 Commons Chamber

[Kit Malthouse]

We are committed to a vibrant housing market with tenures of all types, and for all types of people. In particular, we have emphasised that housing for social rent should be an area of growth. As was stated in an earlier answer, we are targeting a further 12,500 social rent housing for provision in the next few years, but if the hon. Gentleman has any ideas about where, when and who I need to push, prod or harass in order to build more, I will be more than happy to do that.

[Nigel Mills (Amber Valley) (Con)]

11. What steps his Department is taking to ensure fairness in the allocation of funding to local government.