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

To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, whether neighbourhood forums are required to publish design codes.

The Levelling Up and Regeneration Act 2023 introduces a requirement for local planning authorities to produce a design code for the whole of their area. While this requirement does not apply to neighbourhood planning forums, provisions in the Act do allow for neighbourhood development plans to include requirements with respect to the design of development, in the same way that new-style local plans can.

Furthermore, to support neighbourhood forums to prepare their own design codes, we are supporting Locality to develop bespoke guidance for these groups, drawing on the lessons learned as part of the Department’s design code pathfinder programme.