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

To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of ensuring greater protection to landscapes with a distinct literary (a) heritage and (b) value in planning policy.

The National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF) sets out that planning policies and decisions should recognise the character and beauty of the countryside, and local authorities are expected to protect heritage assets which can include landscape and setting of listed buildings.

Substantial harm to, or loss of, the significance of designated heritage assets of the highest significance – including World Heritage Sites – should be wholly exceptional. A notable example of protected landscape is the Lake District, inscribed as a World Heritage Site for its rich cultural landscape in recognition of its importance to Wordsworth.