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

To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what steps he is taking to ensure that local communities' knowledge of green belt and flood plains is taken into account when planning applications are under consideration.

Local authorities are required to undertake a formal period of public consultation of not less than 21 days, prior to deciding a planning application. Effective consultation allows the local authority to identify and consider all relevant planning issues associated with the development proposed. Consultees, particularly those living near the site in question, may offer views or detailed information relevant to the consideration of the application. Where material considerations are raised by local residents, these must be taken into account by the local authority. The weight attached to a particular consideration is a matter of judgement for the local authority as the decision-maker in the first instance.

The Government’s general expectations of the planning system with regard to the Green Belt and to flood risk are made clear in our National Planning Policy Framework. The Framework states, for instance, that inappropriate development in areas at risk of flooding should be directed away from areas at highest risk. If new homes are necessary in a flood risk area, and no suitable sites at lower risk are available, the local authority should ensure that the development will be safe, appropriately flood resistant and resilient, and will not increase flood risk elsewhere. Where those tests are not met, development should not be allowed.