| answer text |
<p>Plan making has significantly improved under this Government. 81% of local planning
authorities have at least published their plan and 63% of local planning authorities
now have an adopted local plan in place (compared to 17% in 2010).</p><p> </p><p>The
Localism Act has strengthened the role of Local Plans, allowing local councils – in
consultation with local residents – to draw up plans and determine where new development
should and should not go. Paragraph 14 of the National Planning Policy Framework already
provides a very strong incentive for councils to have a Local Plan in place. I am
aware that the Labour Party's Lyons Review proposed that sanctions should be imposed
against councils without a Local Plan and that the Secretary of State should direct
the Planning Inspectorate to produce a Local Plan in place of the Council. However,
I believe that proposal is excessively centralising, and would be an unpalatable re-creation
of the top-down planning regime that we abolished in the Localism Act.</p><p> </p><p>Drawing
up a Local Plan can be challenging – it involves trade-offs and hard choices, and
there is no longer Regional Planning Guidance or Regional Spatial Strategy imposed
from above to hide behind and blame. But it is our preference for this to be a locally-led
process.</p><p> </p><p><br><br>The Government has supported local authorities in their
Plan making by funding the Planning Advisory Service; the Planning Inspectorate; and
senior retired Planning Inspectors to help bring forward sound Local Plans.</p><p>
</p><p>This Government introduced neighbourhood planning which offers an unprecedented
opportunity for communities to develop plans with statutory force. Over 1,400 communities,
representing around 6 million people in England, have now applied for a neighbourhood
area to be designated and 59 successful referendums on neighbourhood plans have been
held. The Government is committed to supporting communities throughout the process
and encouraging more communities to join them. The Government recently announced a
new support contract worth £22.5 million, which will begin in April 2015 and last
until 2018.</p>
|
|
