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

To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what assessment her Department has made of the potential impact of permitted development rights on (a) community engagement with and (b) levels of local oversight for planning; and what steps she is taking to ensure that all developments of a significant scale require local (i) consultation and (ii) scrutiny at the planning stage.

Where permitted development rights consent development which could have local impacts, a prior approval process can allow for consideration of specified planning matters by the local planning authority and the local community.

Planning law requires local planning authorities to publicise applications for planning permission and consult any relevant statutory bodies for a minimum of 21 days. The local planning authority must not determine the application until after this period. This is 30 days if the development is subject to Environmental Impact Assessment.

The government continues to keep permitted development rights under review.