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

To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, if he will revise his Draft National Planning guidance to afford local wildlife sites the presumption against development; and if he will make a statement.

This Government is committed to ensuring clarity around environmental protections in the National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF). We engaged relevant stakeholders, including environmental organisations, during the consultation on the revised NPPF. The consultation closed on 10 May 2018 and we are currently considering responses. The revised NPPF and the Government’s response will be published this summer.