Asked by: Neil Parish (Conservative - Tiverton and Honiton)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what steps his Department is taking to support the creation of traditional, street-based, high-density designs in new housing developments.
Answered by Lord Barwell
The Government is very clear that good design is a key aspect of sustainable development, is indivisible from good planning, and should contribute positively to making places better for people. We want to see new developments that function well and add to the overall quality of the area, that establish a strong sense of place by using streetscapes and buildings to create attractive and comfortable places to live, work and visit. Our planning guidance reinforces this strong focus on design, and provides advice on tools for delivery - including design codes. However, it is for local authorities and their communities, through their Local Plans and Neighbourhood plans, to set out the quality of design that they wish to see in their area.
Asked by: Neil Parish (Conservative - Tiverton and Honiton)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what steps he is taking to support the role of local communities in the design of new housing developments.
Answered by Lord Barwell
We have introduced reforms to enable local communities to produce statutory Neighbourhood Plans. These Plans empower communities to shape the areas in which they live and future developments.
Asked by: Neil Parish (Conservative - Tiverton and Honiton)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of making superfast broadband a planning obligation on all new build properties
Answered by Brandon Lewis
We have worked with BT Openreach and the Home Builders Federation on an agreement, announced earlier this year, which aims to deliver superfast broadband connectivity to new build properties in the UK. We have also recently introduced a requirement for all new buildings and major renovations to include in-building physical infrastructure to support connections to superfast broadband. In addition, the National Planning Policy Framework places the provision of superfast broadband alongside other strategic infrastructure and requires local planning authorities to consult providers as part of the Local Plan.