Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, if he will make an assessment of the potential merits of the Secretary of State having powers to direct local authorities in respect of housing development where they deem it necessary in the event that the local authority has failed to develop housing to meet local needs.
Where the supply and delivery of housing is not meeting local need, the presumption in favour of sustainable development applies. This means additional housing allocations and approvals should be granted by a local authority unless planning constraints provide a strong reason against this when assessed against the NPPF as a whole – examples of this include Green Belt or flood risk
The government is currently considering changes to the planning system. An announcement will be made in due course.