Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:

To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, if the Government will make it its policy to make it mandatory for a planning inspector to visit any site that is being proposed for removal from the green belt as part of a local development plan.

Paragraph 140 of the National Planning Policy Framework states that 'once established, Green Belt boundaries should only be altered where exceptional circumstances are fully evidenced and justified, through the preparation or updating of plans'

All local plans must be submitted for independent examination by an inspector. Where a local authority is proposing to amend Green Belt boundaries, it is for the inspector to decide if exceptional circumstances have been adequately demonstrated, and ultimately, whether the local plan is 'sound' and can be adopted.

Government policy on local plan examination site visits is set out in paragraph 3.23 of 'Procedure Guide for Local Plan Examinations’. It states that: 'The Inspector will decide which sites and locations they need to visit in order to assess the soundness of the plan and may also undertake a familiarisation tour of the area. Site visits may take place at any time during the examination'.