Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:

To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of embedding the reuse of existing buildings into the proposed Planning for the Future reforms.

Making effective use of land and buildings is a key aspect of the Government’s existing planning policy, and one which we intend to retain as wider reforms to the planning system are implemented. Our proposed changes to plan-making would bring additional certainty to how land is expected to be used, through the local identification of areas for growth, renewal or protection.

The changes we made to the Use Classes Order from 1 September will support our high streets and town centres by enabling more effective use of existing buildings. More premises will be able to change use without the need for a planning application.