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

To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, in relation to the property developer Thakeham's proposal for a new town in South West Cambridgeshire, whether (a) Ministers or (b) officials in his Department have held a (i) meeting or (ii) discussions with the developer; whether his Department has engaged with Thakeham’s proposal for a new town in South West Cambridgeshire; and whether the responsibility for a planning decision on Thakeham’s proposal for a new town in South West Cambridgeshire would rest solely on South Cambridgeshire District Council.

There have been no Ministerial discussions and no involvement related to this proposal at any stage and Ministers have not had any contact with the developer. Following the announcement of the proposed new town, one MHCLG official has since attended a meeting between the developer and Homes England as an observer. There has been no engagement between the Department and the developer. Should an application for planning permission come forward it will be dealt with in the usual way.