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 encourage local authorities to consider new garden cities or villages within their local plan process; and if he will make a statement.

Following the publication of prospectuses in April 2014 and March 2016 inviting expressions of interest, the government is supporting twenty-four garden villages, towns and cities across England, with the potential for over 200,000 new homes.

The National Planning Policy Framework sets out that supply of new homes can sometimes be best achieved through planning for larger scale development, such as new settlements or extensions to existing villages and towns that follow the principles of Garden Cities. Working with the support of their communities, local planning authorities should consider whether such opportunities provide the best way of achieving sustainable development.

We have made clear that, following consultation on changes to the National Planning Policy Framework, we will amend policy to encourage a more proactive approach by authorities to bring forward new settlements in their plans.