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

To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, with reference to the White Paper, Planning for the Future, whether Metropolitan Open Land will be included in the protected category of land.

Last year’s Planning for the Future White Paper proposed a new format of local plan where all land is put into one of three categories - areas for growth, for renewal or for protection. It proposed that protected areas would be those where recognised constraints exist, such as National Parks and the Green Belt, alongside open countryside.

Since publication, we have continued to engage with stakeholders to develop and refine the proposals as set out in the White Paper. We will publish a Government response setting out our decisions on the way forward.