Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to the Answer of 2 March 2023 to Question 903834 on National Highways: Planning, if he will hold discussions with National Highways on taking steps to recommend the refusal of a planning application when applicants fail to provide sufficient information for more than one year.

The Government’s expectation is that all planning applications are determined in a timely manner and within statutory periods.

The Town and Country Planning (Development Management Procedure) (England) Order 2015 (“the DMPO”) sets out the requirements for consultation with National Highways in respect of applications submitted under the Town and Country Planning Act 1990 and the provisions for the company to respond to such consultations.

When consulted on an application for planning permission, National Highways will issue a formal response to the relevant local planning authority within statutory timeframes. Where appropriate, planning conditions will be recommended to mitigate any unacceptable impacts on the Strategic Road Network that are identified through the assessment process.

The Town and Country Planning (Development Affecting Trunk Roads) Direction 2018 requires local authorities to refer a planning application to the Secretary of State where the authority has resolved to approve the application against the recommendation of National Highways. The Secretary of State must then decide whether to issue a direction to the Local Planning Authority with respect to application in question.

As you will appreciate, the Secretary of State adopts a quasi-judicial role in the planning system and as such it would not be appropriate to discuss any individual cases.