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

To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, whether he plans to ensure that (a) high-quality (i) landscape design and (ii) green infrastructure proposed in planning applications are protected during construction and (b) long-term funding models for (A) management and (B) maintenance are provided through the planning process.

The National Planning Policy Framework emphasises the importance of a network of high-quality open spaces for the health and wellbeing of communities and the environment.

The National Design Guide, which supports the Framework, makes clear that well-designed places consider management and maintenance regimes from the early stages of the design process and document them in a management plan.

A Local Planning Authority (LPA) can attach conditions to the grant of planning permission. These could be used to secure the implementation and protection of landscape design and green infrastructure within a development.

LPAs can also use planning obligations to restrict or prescribe the use of land, require specific activities to be carried out in relation to a development, and require payment to a local authority. Planning obligations could include requiring a developer to make payments towards the management and maintenance of green infrastructure.