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

To ask Her Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to advance sustainable housing and community developments in rural and semi-rural areas in England; and how they are ensuring consistency with other national policies, including the National Planning Policy framework.

The National Planning Policy Framework is clear that in rural areas, planning policies and decisions should be responsive to local circumstances and support housing developments that reflect local needs. We introduced neighbourhood planning in 2011 to enable local communities to have the power to develop a shared vision for their area. Neighbourhood plans can shape, direct and help to deliver sustainable development, by influencing local planning decisions as part of the statutory development plan. In addition, our rural exception sites policy in the National Planning Policy Framework allows for small scale affordable housing available in perpetuity to local people to come forward in rural areas outside of the local plan. As we set out in our recent consultation on Changes to the Current Planning System, we recognise that rural exception sites policy is currently underused in many cases, and we will update planning guidance in due course to encourage wider uptake of these sites.

Our White Paper, Planning for the Future, proposes significant changes to the planning system to protect our precious countryside and environment alongside delivering the high-quality sustainable homes communities need. A Government response to these proposals will follow in the Spring.