Planning (Shipley)

Stephen Williams Excerpts

Thursday 5th June 2014 Commons Chamber

[The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government (Stephen Williams)]

I congratulate my hon. Friend the Member for Shipley (Philip Davies) on securing—or, from what he said, re-securing—this debate. I am sure his constituents have been paying attention to the powerful case he made on their behalf. I am not sure what they would have made of his reference to “Crap Towns”. I have picked up that book several times on visits to Waterstones or Foyles in my constituency, but have never been tempted to buy it. You will be relieved, Madam Deputy Speaker, as I was, that Bristol has never featured in a book with such a title.

This debate underlines the importance of getting up-to-date plans in place as the best way of determining what development is appropriate and where it takes place, and of addressing flooding appropriately through planning. I hope my hon. Friend appreciates that, because Ministers in the Department for Communities and Local Government have a quasi-judicial role in the planning system, I cannot comment on the particular proposals he mentioned, in Menston, Micklethwaite and Baildon, or on proposals in Bradford’s emerging local plan. None the less, he raised many important issues that I hope I can address by outlining the Government’s general approach and the reforms that we have made.

In all our reforms, this Government have put plans and communities at the heart of the planning system. The national planning policy framework states at paragraph 150:

“Local Plans are the key to delivering sustainable development that reflects the vision and aspirations of local communities. Planning decisions must be taken in accordance with the development plan unless material considerations indicate otherwise.”

An up-to-date local plan, prepared through extensive public engagement, sets the framework in which decisions are taken, whether locally by the planning authority or on appeal. All areas should have some form of development plan, but where these plans are old, the policies they contain may become less relevant with the passage of time. I note, as I am sure my hon. Friend does, that Bradford metropolitan district council’s existing development plan dates from 2005, but I welcome its publication of a version of the new local plan for public comment earlier this year. I am sure he is feeding through his concerns on behalf of his constituents to that emerging local plan.

On 6 March, the Department published significantly streamlined planning guidance that reiterated the importance of local and neighbourhood plans. It made it clear that plans must be kept up to date regularly in the light of changing circumstances in a clear and transparent way. Our policy is clear that emerging local and neighbourhood plans may carry some weight in planning decisions before they are formally adopted. The weight accorded to emerging plans will be determined in respect of the specific circumstances of the case, the plan’s stage of preparation, the extent to which there are unresolved objections and the degree of consistency of that plan with national policy.

National policy is clear that it is the purpose of planning to enable sustainable development, not any development. Localism, to which my hon. Friend referred several times, means choosing how best to meet development needs, not whether to meet them. That is why the NPPF also states:

“local planning authorities should use their evidence base to ensure that their Local Plan meets the full, objectively assessed needs for market and affordable housing in the housing market area, as far as is consistent with the policies set out in this Framework.”

I should make it clear that most of the need for new housing, according to information that the Government recognise, arises from all our constituents living longer and from decreasing household size—the number of people who live on their own—rather than migration, which my hon. Friend made out was the case, a case I have heard him make several times. It is the longevity of the whole of the population that is largely driving the need for ever more housing units to be built.

Local authorities should identify and update annually a supply of specific deliverable sites sufficient to provide five years’ worth of housing against their housing requirements. Where they cannot do so, relevant policies should not be considered up to date and the presumption in favour of sustainable development would therefore apply. The presumption in favour of sustainable development means granting planning permission unless the adverse impacts of doing so would significantly and demonstrably outweigh the benefits or specific policies in the national framework that indicate that development should be restricted. These specific policies include building on the green belt or in areas where there are designated heritage assets and flooding, which my hon. Friend is particularly concerned about in his constituency. Therefore, even in the absence of an up-to-date plan, our policy strikes a careful balance between enabling sustainable development, and conserving and enhancing our natural and historic environment.

Before coming on to flooding, I will mention briefly the safeguards on the green belt, as this is relevant to Bradford and the historic environment too, which my hon. Friend mentioned in perhaps a not very flattering way right at the end of his speech. Our planning policy sets out how the Government attach great importance to the green belt. It explains how most development in the green belt is inappropriate and should be granted permission only in very special circumstances, and that green belt boundaries should be reviewed only in exceptional circumstances through the local plan process. National policy equally sets out how planning must take account of the different roles and character of different areas, recognise the intrinsic character and beauty of the countryside, and take into account all the benefits of the best and most versatile agricultural land.

In respect of the historic environment, local planning authorities should set out in their local plan a positive strategy for the conservation and enjoyment of the historic environment. In doing so, they should recognise that heritage assets are an irreplaceable resource and that they should conserve them in a manner appropriate to their significance. The Government’s policy is absolutely clear that all development should be supported by appropriate infrastructure, and local authorities have a range of ways to ensure that this occurs. Legislation also prescribes the specific bodies that local authorities must engage with in plan making, which include utilities providers. Compliance with the procedural requirements and consistency with national policy will be thoroughly tested at local plan examination.

My hon. Friend raised issues relating to flooding. He highlighted the importance of ensuring that homes should be safe and secure from all sources of flooding. There are strict tests in national planning policy to protect people and property from flooding, including from the groundwater flooding that my hon. Friend said was a particular risk identified by the experts he cited. Managing the impact of flooding has been brought into sharp focus by recent weather, and it is quite right that attention should be paid to how councils plan for new development.

Following the floods of last winter, we have worked across Government with councils in some of the worst affected areas to understand the impact of those floods. The evidence that we have seen suggests that our policy is working. My hon. Friend should also be reassured to know that 99% of proposed new residential units that the Environment Agency objected to on flood risk grounds were decided in line with the agency’s advice, where the decisions are known. We have been very clear that we expect councils to follow the strict tests in national policy, and that where these tests are not met, that new development should not be allowed.

The main tests to be followed, in summary, are designed to ensure that if there are better sites in terms of flood risk, or a proposed development cannot be made safe, it should not be permitted. The framework is also very clear that residential development should not be allowed in functional floodplain where flood water has to flow or be stored.

The risk of groundwater flooding—to which my hon. Friend referred—is considered alongside other sources of flooding. National policy requires the local plan to direct development away from areas at risk through the sequential approach. This means that councils must first look to locate development outside areas at risk of all sources of flooding. Where appropriate sites at low risk are not available, and sites at a higher risk need to be considered, a site specific flood risk assessment has to be undertaken to demonstrate that development will be safe and resilient—for instance, through flood defence or raised ground floor levels. That should not increase flood risk elsewhere.

[Philip Davies]

Briefly, I and my local residents want to know what they can do and what the Government will do. It is all right saying what should happen but when a flawed decision is made by a local authority that does not have the expertise to understand the ramifications of the decision—or which is flagrantly ignoring the expert advice—what can my local residents do to make sure that that flawed decision is not implemented? What are the Government going to do to make sure that local authorities do not pursue those flawed decisions?

[Stephen Williams]

I was careful to say at the outset that I cannot comment on specific applications to which my hon. Friend has referred, but general advice from Ministers is that where there are concerns about particular planning applications or decisions, he should use all the relevant provisions that are in place. Judicial review may be appropriate, and he is exercising his own important constitutional right on behalf of his constituents to raise the issue in this place and to draw attention to what has happened. If a decision has been made and all the processes have been exhausted, I am not sure whether there are any further measures that can be undertaken.

[Philip Davies]

My hon. Friend’s advice in terms of judicial review is helpful but, as he will appreciate, that is a very expensive process. What financial support can be given to local communities to pursue a judicial review when such a travesty of justice has taken place?

[Stephen Williams]

Judicial review is of course a last resort. We want the democratic processes to work, but my hon. Friend is always able to write formally to the Department where Ministers will act in accordance with advice from officials or from the Planning Inspectorate and advise what other appropriate action could be taken. I urge him to do that if he has not already done so. He indicated earlier that the Secretary of State has already been involved to an extent in decisions in the borough, but I urge him to write in with the concerns to which he has drawn attention in this debate.

A local plan is informed by a strategic flood risk assessment, which includes an assessment of risk from all sources of flooding including groundwater. A strategic flood risk assessment will draw on a range of sources of information. I understand that the assessment for Bradford was updated earlier this year and that it considers flooding from all sources, including groundwater. I suggest that my hon. Friend write specifically to me at the Department so that we can have another look at the issues that he has raised.

The decision whether to grant planning permission is a matter for local planning authorities, taking into account their own local plans, strategic and site-specific flood risk assessments as appropriate, advice from the Environment Agency and from leading local flood authorities, and other material considerations. Those bodies have an opportunity to comment on draft local plans and various types of planning applications where there is a risk of flooding. Bradford has now published its local plan, and I suggest to my hon. Friend that while it is at its current emerging stage, he should make his representations loud and clear to ensure that flooding is taken into account appropriately.

Question put and agreed to.