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

To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, whether she plans to require Natural Landscapes to be statutory consultees for housing developments in (a) all areas with high levels of natural landscapes and (b) West Dorset constituency.

The government is clear that the bar for being a statutory consultee in the planning system, and therefore having to be consulted on planning applications by law, should be high.

In January 2025 the government declared a moratorium on any new statutory consultees, along with a review of the existing statutory consultee arrangements to ensure they align with the government’s ambitions for growth. Further details can be found in the Written Ministerial Statement made on 10 March 2025 (HCWS510).

The government has not had discussions with Natural Landscapes about their engagement with the planning system.