Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Henry Smith and Michael Gove

Monday 16th October 2023 Commons Chamber

[Henry Smith (Crawley) (Con)]

1. What his policy is on the use of brownfield land for new developments.

[The Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities (Michael Gove)]

The Government strongly encourage the reuse of suitable brownfield land. Our national planning policy framework makes it clear that local authorities should give substantial weight to the value of using suitable brownfield land within settlements for homes and other identified needs. The Levelling Up and Regeneration Bill will further empower local leaders to regenerate urban centres by strengthening and adding to existing measures.

[Henry Smith]

Homes England proposes to build up to 10,000 houses on greenfield sites west of Ifield in my constituency. What directive has my right hon. Friend’s Department given to the executive agency Homes England on the Department’s brownfield-first building policy?

[Michael Gove]

I am very grateful to my hon. Friend for raising that question. I cannot go into individual planning cases, but Homes England is leading a programme of urban regeneration. The work that we are doing in London’s docklands and in Leeds, Sheffield, Wolverhampton and other areas demonstrates our commitment both to levelling up and to making sure that, for environmental and economic reasons, we develop brownfield land first.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Henry Smith and Michael Gove

Monday 5th June 2023 Commons Chamber

[Michael Gove]

I have a lot of sympathy with the hon. Lady’s position, and I will look closely at that proposal. I agree with her and, indeed, with the shadow Secretary of State, the hon. Member for Wigan (Lisa Nandy), that the green belt is a valuable environmental asset that we need to protect, but sadly that is not the view of the Leader of the Opposition.

[Henry Smith (Crawley) (Con)]

In reforming planning policy to deliver more homes, can I have an assurance that the brownfield-first policy will be paramount to protect the green belt and green fields from development?

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Henry Smith and Michael Gove

Monday 25th October 2021 Commons Chamber

[Henry Smith (Crawley) (Con)]

I warmly welcome my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State to his post. In doing so, I cannot miss the opportunity to request a meeting with him so that I can convey the real concerns of local residents to the west of my constituency boundary, in the parish of Ifield, at proposals for 10,000 houses on greenfield sites.

[Michael Gove]

Of course I cannot comment on any individual planning application, but I know what a brilliant job my hon. Friend does in representing his constituents, so I look forward to meeting him to listen to the case he is making, or to a member of my ministerial team doing so.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Henry Smith and Michael Gove

Thursday 8th July 2021 Commons Chamber

[Michael Gove]

I absolutely will. It is horrific that so much public money has been misused by the former Labour administration in Durham County Council and that the people of that county have been so poorly served. I will of course absolutely investigate that, but I should say that if it was a choice between Durham and Consett for the relocation of Government jobs, I would choose Consett every time.

[Henry Smith (Crawley) (Con)]

What steps the Government are taking to increase opportunities for small businesses to bid for Government contracts.

--- Later in debate ---

[Henry Smith (Crawley) (Con) [V]]

  Does my right hon. Friend agree that, alongside civil service reform in terms of places and personnel, digital and data reforms are also at the heart of the Government’s agenda to drive real improvement and deliver on the Government’s priorities, which will transform our communities?

[Michael Gove]

Yes, my hon. Friend is absolutely correct. In a former life he was a distinguished leader of West Sussex County Council and, as such, he knows how important it is to the delivery of public services to ensure that one has appropriate metrics, one shares data and that one uses digital innovation to improve service delivery. I look forward to working with him to improve Government delivery in just that way.