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

To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, with reference to the Written Statement of 1 July 2020, HCWS145 on Revitalising high streets and town centres, whether any consultation responses from local government support his steps to reduce the use of Article 4 directions.

We consulted on proposed revisions to the policy on Article 4 directions in the National Planning Policy Framework and National Model Design Code: Consultation Proposals in January 2021. Following analysis of the consultation responses, we have refined the proposed Article 4 policy wording to ensure an appropriate balance between delivering a higher threshold to protect smaller geographical areas only and maintaining local flexibility in defining these areas.