Housing and Planning Bill — House of Lords, 2016-05-04
Topic: Housing
Natalie Evans (Conservative, Centre-right): My Lords, I recognise the clear support in this House for a neighbourhood right of appeal and the strong desire of noble Lords to ensure that the hard work of communities which have produced a neighbourhood plan is respected. However, the Government do not support the principle of a third-party right of appeal against a grant of planning permission in a system that is carefully geared towards delivering sustainable development. Last night, the other place supported the Government’s position by unanimously agreeing to remove Lords Amendment 97 from the Bill. Your Lordships’ House will have seen government Amendment 97A, again unanimously supported by the other place, which I hope will receive support from this House However, before I discuss Amendment 97A, let me once again reiterate that we absolutely understand the huge commitment it takes for communities to produce a neighbourhood plan. There is no stronger position for a community to hold than to have an up-to-date neighbourhood plan in place. In law, the starting point for deciding planning applications is the statutory development plan, which will include any made neighbourhood plan. Local planning authorities will also need to take account of a wide range of views and any other material considerations. If the elected members of the planning committee have found that the development is sustainable and appropriate, and they have clearly taken the plan into account alongside other considerations, we do not believe that there is benefit from repeated consideration of the issues raised. Indeed, if communities believe that the neighbourhood plan has not been respected, they can already ask the Secretary of State to intervene and call in the application for his determination. The Government believe that this provides ample opportunity for a local community to raise their concerns I also question whether a neighbourhood right of appeal would routinely change the outcome of locally made decisions. This is because the decision-taker on an appeal is faced with exactly the same plan and exactly the same considerations, and these ultimately push for sustainable development. We believe that a further appeal stage would add complexity and unpredictability to the system, undermining investor confidence and running against our manifesto commitment to speed up and simplify the planning system. It would significantly impact on the speed and cost of housing delivery. We cannot support an amendment that would see unnecessary additional bureaucracy slowing down much-needed housing development However, we have listened to the concerns of your Lordships’ House and believe that local planning authorities could and should do more to demonstrate to communities how their neighbourhood plan has been taken fully into account. Amendment 97A prescribes in the Bill a requirement for a planning authority to set out in any report to a planning committee that recommends granting planning permission how any neighbourhood plan has been considered. It will also be required to identify in the report any conflict between its recommendation and the neighbourhood plan. This will ensure that the planning committee—the elected representatives for the area—cannot fail to appreciate how the development accords with the neighbourhood plan. Reports are published in advance of committees, allowing local people the opportunity to raise any further concerns directly with their local councillors or to attend and request to speak at the planning committee. This added level of transparency and explanation will ensure that local planning authorities are absolutely clear how they have balanced the neighbourhood plan against other material considerations that they are required to take into account This Government were elected to speed up and simplify the planning system. The many people who are in need of homes do not want added delays. While I can appreciate the spirit of the noble Baroness’s amendment, the Government cannot support an amendment that would restrict our ability to deliver our wider commitments. I beg to move Motion J1 (as an amendment to Motion J)