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

To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what assessment he has made of the potential risk of speculative development in locations without an up-to-date Local Plan.

In the absence of an up-to-date Local Plan, there is a high likelihood that development will come forward on a piecemeal and speculative basis, with reduced public engagement and fewer guarantees that it will make the most of an area’s potential.

It is for that reason that we have made clear consistently and repeatedly that we expect all local planning authorities to make every effort to get up-to-date local plans in place as soon as possible.