Select committee: Housing, Communities and Local Government Committee
Recommendation 8
First Report - The future of the planning system in England
Published 10 Jun 2021
Paragraph 52
Addressed to Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government
Housing, Communities and Local Government Committee The future of the planning system in England All items in this report Report on parliament.uk ↗ Inquiry on parliament.uk ↗
Recommendation (the committee's words)
We recognise the value of neighbourhood plans. They should have a significant role in the development of new Local Plans. To be effective they need to be up- to-date and representative of the whole community and a clear part of the new framework. Local authorities and existing neighbourhood forums need to strive to ensure a representative range of voices are heard in the production of neighbourhood plans, and there should be a timeframe for producing and revising them to ensure they remain relevant. Ahead of the Planning Bill, the Government must clarify the role and status of neighbourhood plans in the proposed system. The Government should consider how to make the neighbourhood planning more relevant to local people and how to ensure that residents feel empowered to both contribute to and own the plan.
From: Housing, Communities and Local Government Committee, First Report - The future of the planning system in England (HC 38), paragraph 52, 10 June 2021
Government response
The government responded to the whole report on 17 May 2022 (deadline 10 August 2021).
Summary written by Accountability Index from the government's response. It is not the government's own words.The government's response agrees with the Committee on a number of recommendations, including not pursuing the three areas proposal, while declining to extend the 30-month local plan timetable and having no plans for a national Green Belt review.
- It agrees with the recommendation on the three areas proposal and "will not be pursuing three area types in the reformed planning system".
- It "does not accept" the recommendation to extend the 30-month plan-making timeframe, stating that reforms make 30 months "achievable" and that it "will consult on the detail of these regulations in due course".
- On planning fees, it intends to increase them by 35% for major and 25% for minor applications, "subject to consultation", which it says will take place in the summer.
- On the Green Belt, it "has no plans for a national review" and says the National Planning Policy Framework's protections "will remain".