asked Her Majesty's Government:

Whether they plan to issue a new land use planning policy statement for renewable energy in England.

I am today announcing the start of the public consultation period for Planning Policy Statement 22, which sets out this Government's planning policy for renewable energy projects.

Increased development of renewable energy resources is vital to facilitating the delivery of the Government's commitments on both climate change and renewable energy. This new draft planning policy statement clearly sets out positive planning policies, which will facilitate renewable energy developments and contribute to all four elements of the Government's sustainable development strategy.

This statement makes clear:

that local planning authorities should set clear criteria in their plans on which renewable energy projects will be judged rather than identifying any specific locations suitable for certain types of development. We believe that the past emphasis on identifying specific areas of search within development plans has proved unsuccessful; that targets for renewable energy generation should be set within regional planning guidance, as indicated in the energy White Paper. Such targets may be disaggregated subregionally if appropriate, but the aim should always be to exceed any targets set, rather than just meet them; the latest government planning policy relating to renewable energy developments and the additional safeguards for national parks or other national and internationally designated areas.

Due to the need for clearer and more concise statements of government policy this PPS does not include technical advice or good practice guidance. The intention is to publish separately a companion guide containing the technical details of what was originally in the annexes of PPG22. We are also keen to include evidence of good practice from both developers and local planning authorities within this guide. Work on the guide will commence shortly and it will be published alongside the final version of PPS22.