Garden Cities

Lord Christopher Excerpts

Thursday 6th June 2013 Lords Chamber

[Baroness Hanham]

My Lords, I have indicated that the principles laid out in the prospectus and draft prospectus are already being dealt with and are already being incorporated into the proposals and designs for these larger sites. The local infrastructure fund, which has recently been set up by my department, helps with the sort of matter that the noble Lord has raised—that of the additional pressures placed on local communities—by providing funding for things such as schools and opening up roads.

[Lord Christopher]

I have heard what the noble Baroness has said about the issues arising from garden cities, but would it not greatly speed up the provision of houses if major developers were required to develop properly and genuinely the sites for which they already have planning permission?

[Baroness Hanham]

My Lords, I think that these are all different matters—we have completely different proposals being put forward. Yes, some of the developments will be where planning permission has already been given, some will be where discussions have already taken place and some will be on new sites. We have to ensure that we are flexible but insistent that these are good developments for the future and that we are not just building anonymous estates that do not bring any sense of community.