In our revised National Planning Policy Framework we ask local authorities to give substantial weight to the value of re-using brownfield land, and to prioritise its redevelopment wherever possible. To assist redevelopment the Government offers loans for site preparation and infrastructure, and tax relief for land remediation; and we have introduced Permission in Principle to speed housing-led development at sites on local Registers of brownfield land.<\/p>
By contrast, the Framework provides strong discouragement for needless loss of Green Belt. It makes clear that most types of new building are inappropriate in the Green Belt and should be refused planning permission. It also states that a Green Belt boundary may be adjusted only in exceptional circumstances, by means of the Local Plan revision process. At examination of a draft Plan the planning inspector will now look for evidenced justification of any Green Belt boundary change, to ensure that all other reasonable options for accommodating the development have been explored.<\/p>
Because each brownfield site is different, each often requires a tailored solution. The land may be in an unsustainable or unviable location for residential use, or unavailable, or in need of complicated remediation. It would be impracticable to prevent local authorities building the homes we need until all their brownfield is used up.<\/p>"} , "answeringMember" : {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/members/4053", "label" : {"_value" : "Biography information for Mrs Heather Wheeler"} } , "answeringMemberConstituency" : {"_value" : "South Derbyshire"} , "answeringMemberPrinted" : {"_value" : "Mrs Heather Wheeler"} , "dateOfAnswer" : {"_value" : "2019-07-24", "_datatype" : "dateTime"} , "isMinisterialCorrection" : {"_value" : "false", "_datatype" : "boolean"} , "questionFirstAnswered" : [{"_value" : "2019-07-24T16:30:02.95Z", "_datatype" : "dateTime"} ]} , "answeringDeptId" : {"_value" : "7"} , "answeringDeptShortName" : {"_value" : "Housing, Communities and Local Government"} , "answeringDeptSortName" : {"_value" : "Housing, Communities and Local Government"} , "date" : {"_value" : "2019-07-19", "_datatype" : "dateTime"} , "hansardHeading" : {"_value" : "Derelict Land: Regeneration"} , "houseId" : {"_value" : "1"} , "legislature" : [{"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/terms/25259", "prefLabel" : {"_value" : "House of Commons"} } ], "questionText" : "To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what steps his Department is taking to require local authorities to identify brownfield rather than green belt sites for development.", "registeredInterest" : {"_value" : "false", "_datatype" : "boolean"} , "tablingMember" : {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/members/4090", "label" : {"_value" : "Biography information for Mr Jonathan Lord"} } , "tablingMemberConstituency" : {"_value" : "Woking"} , "tablingMemberPrinted" : [{"_value" : "Mr Jonathan Lord"} ], "uin" : "279437"} , {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/resources/1140553", "AnsweringBody" : [{"_value" : "Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government"} ], "answer" : {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/resources/1140553/answer", "answerText" : {"_value" : "
In our National Planning Policy Framework, reissued in February 2019, we ask local authorities to protect their Green Belts, making clear that most types of new buildings are inappropriate there, and should be refused planning permission. The revised Framework now also states that a local authority can propose to alter a Green Belt boundary only in exceptional circumstances and only if it can show that it has examined all other reasonable options for meeting its identified development needs. A local authority should therefore make as much use as possible of suitable brownfield and under-used land; optimise density of development; and discuss with neighbouring authorities whether they could take some of the necessary development, as agreed in a Statement of Common Ground. As part of the rigorous examination of a draft Plan, the planning inspector will look for evidenced justification of any proposed change to a Green Belt, to check that reasonable alternatives have been explored.<\/p>"} , "answeringMember" : {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/members/4053", "label" : {"_value" : "Biography information for Mrs Heather Wheeler"} } , "answeringMemberConstituency" : {"_value" : "South Derbyshire"} , "answeringMemberPrinted" : {"_value" : "Mrs Heather Wheeler"} , "dateOfAnswer" : {"_value" : "2019-07-24", "_datatype" : "dateTime"} , "isMinisterialCorrection" : {"_value" : "false", "_datatype" : "boolean"} , "questionFirstAnswered" : [{"_value" : "2019-07-24T16:31:22.353Z", "_datatype" : "dateTime"} ]} , "answeringDeptId" : {"_value" : "7"} , "answeringDeptShortName" : {"_value" : "Housing, Communities and Local Government"} , "answeringDeptSortName" : {"_value" : "Housing, Communities and Local Government"} , "date" : {"_value" : "2019-07-19", "_datatype" : "dateTime"} , "hansardHeading" : {"_value" : "Green Belt: Housing"} , "houseId" : {"_value" : "1"} , "legislature" : [{"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/terms/25259", "prefLabel" : {"_value" : "House of Commons"} } ], "questionText" : "To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what recent steps his Department has taken to protect the green belt from housing developments.", "registeredInterest" : {"_value" : "false", "_datatype" : "boolean"} , "tablingMember" : {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/members/4090", "label" : {"_value" : "Biography information for Mr Jonathan Lord"} } , "tablingMemberConstituency" : {"_value" : "Woking"} , "tablingMemberPrinted" : [{"_value" : "Mr Jonathan Lord"} ], "uin" : "279438"} ], "itemsPerPage" : 10, "page" : 0, "startIndex" : 1, "totalResults" : 2, "type" : ["http://purl.org/linked-data/api/vocab#ListEndpoint", "http://purl.org/linked-data/api/vocab#Page"]} }