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

To ask His Majesty's Government what measures are in place to encourage planning authorities to support planning applications for the UK’s logistics network, including (1) transport, (2) intermodal sites, (3) warehousing, and (4) other facilities.

The National Planning Policy Framework is clear that planning policies and decisions should help create the conditions in which businesses can invest, expand and adapt. Significant weight should be placed on the need to support economic growth and productivity, taking into account both local business needs and wider opportunities for development.

The Framework also states that planning policies and decisions should recognise and address the specific locational requirements of different sectors. This includes making provision for clusters or networks for storage and distribution operations at a variety of scales and in suitably accessible locations.

In support of this the Planning Practice Guidance states that the logistics industry plays a critical role in enabling an efficient, sustainable and effective supply of goods for consumers and businesses, as well as contributing to local employment opportunities, and has distinct locational requirements that need to be considered in formulating planning policies.