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

To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what assessment he has made of the adequacy of the transport, road, waste and energy infrastructure in (a) West Sussex and (b) Mid Sussex constituency for current and projected demand for housing; and if he will review the infrastructure in (i) West Sussex and (ii) Mid Sussex constituency in the light of current and projected demand for housing.

In producing their Local Plan, an authority should set out their strategic priorities to deliver housing need and infrastructure in their area. These plans must be examined by an independent Inspector, appointed by the Secretary of State, who will consider the adequacy of infrastructure to support future development (based on the Council’s evidence) as part of a wider consideration into the soundness of the Plan. All the local planning authorities within West Sussex have either got an adopted Local Plan which has been found sound at examination, or a plan which is currently being examined, such as Mid Sussex.

The Local Growth Fund has made over £7 billion available to Local Enterprise Partnerships (LEP) to spend on local priority projects which unlock housing and create infrastructure to generate economic growth. A further round of Growth Deal funding worth up to £1.8 billion is available to LEPs. The results will be announced towards the end of the year.