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

To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, whether it is his policy for proposed garden cities, towns and villages to expand indefinitely or be limited to a size at which more stringent planning rules will apply.

Our Locally-led Garden Villages, Towns and Cities prospectus makes clear that the garden villages proposals we support should be free-standing settlements of between 1,500 and 10,000 homes. These though are locally-led proposals and it is for local areas to decide the appropriate number of homes in garden cities, towns or villages over time. Our support for garden cities, towns and villages in no way pre-judges the planning process and, subject to any planning freedoms that may be agreed with individual places, the usual planning rules apply.