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

To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what information his Department holds on the number of planning applications which were refused on the grounds that the sewerage network or waste water treatment facilities did not have sufficient capacity to service those developments in each of the last five years.

The information requested is not collected by the Department.

The National Planning Policy Framework expects local councils to work with other authorities and providers, such as water and sewerage companies, to assess the quality and capacity of infrastructure and its ability to meet forecast demands. This includes infrastructure for wastewater and its treatment. This should help inform councils’ Local Plans, which should plan positively for the development and infrastructure required in the area. Further information is provided in our on-line planning practice guidance, ‘Water supply, wastewater and water quality’, available at http://planningguidance.communities.gov.uk/blog/guidance/