Planning Permission

(asked on 6th June 2022) - View Source

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, if he will take steps to promote collaboration between local planning authorities on planning applications that have implications for (a) school places and (b) other public services in neighbouring local authorities.


Answered by
Stuart Andrew Portrait
Stuart Andrew
Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
This question was answered on 14th June 2022

The provision of the right infrastructure at the right time is very important to new and existing communities. It allows infrastructure like schools, GP surgeries and new roads to be provided in a more effective, transparent and efficient manner. While I agree that there should be collaboration between local authorities and key infrastructure providers to ensure these matters are properly planned for, we believe this is best done as part of the plan-making process.

To this end, we will be introducing an Infrastructure Levy to replace the complex and discretionary Section 106 regime. The levy will be a mandatory, non-negotiable charge, set and collected locally. It will give a greater say to local councils on what their infrastructure priorities are and give greater transparency to local people about how funds will be spent and what infrastructure will be delivered.

To strengthen infrastructure delivery further, we will be introducing a requirement for local authorities to prepare infrastructure delivery strategies. These will set out a strategy for delivering local infrastructure, including education and other types of community facilities, and spending Infrastructure Levy proceeds. We are also introducing a new requirement for infrastructure providers and other bodies to provide assistance to local authorities in drafting their local plans. This will ensure local authorities get the information they need in a timely manner so that they can identify how infrastructure and new housing development should be sited and provided


I agree that it is vital for local planning authorities to work together to make sure that cross-boundary issues are properly addressed, and we expect them to plan for and deliver the housing and infrastructure our communities need.

Reticulating Splines