Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:

To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, whether her Department has assessed whether (a) Camberley, (b) Bagshot, (c) Frimley and (d) Wanborough stations meet the definition of a well-connected station under Annex B of the August 2026 National Planning Policy Framework.

The definition of ‘well-connected’ station is set out in the glossary at Annex B of the National Planning Policy Framework. It is for decision makers to determine whether any given station meets the definition of ‘well-connected’. My Department has not made a definitive assessment of whether any specific station meets the criteria.

As set out in the government response to the proposed reforms to the National Planning Policy Framework and other changes to the planning system consultation, which can be found on gov.uk here, the government considered whether measures such as service reliability, journey times or onward travel could be included in the definition of a ‘well-connected’ station. We concluded that such measures, which vary significantly across different locations and over time, would be challenging to implement in practice. Such metrics would likely add complexity to the proposals, and undermine wider efforts to support a clear, rules-based planning system.