Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:

To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what recent guidance his Department has issued to help ensure that local planning authority requirements for traditional building aesthetics are not cited by developers as a reason for not meeting the optional accessibility standard in Approved Document M4(2).

I refer the hon. Member to the answer given to Question UIN 123094 on 31 March 2026. Accessibility standards in new homes, including M4(1), M4(2) and M4(3), are set out in statutory guidance accompanying the Building Regulations (Approved Document M ,Volume 1). Provision for accessibility in historic dwellings should be balanced against the preservation of the historic buildings or environments. To achieve this balance, it would be appropriate to take into account the advice of the local authority’s conservation and access officers, English Heritage and views of local access groups.