Oral Answers to Questions

Stuart Andrew Excerpts

Monday 17th September 2012 Commons Chamber

[Nick Boles]

The hon. Gentleman has done a fantastic job of drawing that matter to the attention of the House and of the nation, and I am sure that he will be able to put pressure on his local authority to follow the law.

[Stuart Andrew (Pudsey) (Con)]

8. What plans he has to require that all brownfield sites within a local authority should be developed before planning permission is granted to build on green belt land.

[Hugh Bayley (York Central) (Lab)]

11. What plans his Department has to bring forward proposals to encourage commercial development on brownfield sites.

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

The national planning policy framework encourages local authorities to reuse brownfield land that is not of high environmental value. It also maintains strong protections for the green belt, making it clear that most forms of new development are inappropriate in the green belt.

[Stuart Andrew]

I welcome the Minister to his new position.

My constituents are concerned about the threat to the green belt, particularly as councils seek to fight the five-year land supply provisions. Additionally, we are seeing an unprecedented number of applications for development of land classified as “protected area of search”—PAS—land and greenfield land, as developers take advantage of that period. What support can the Government give to residents in my constituency who are trying to save those sites and who want the brownfield sites to be developed? As this is the Minister’s first Question Time at the Dispatch Box, may I invite him to come to my constituency to see how important that land is, and to meet members of my residents groups?