Communities and Local Government written question – answered at on 15 October 2012.
To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government if he will make it his policy to require the Planning Inspectorate to take account of emerging local development plans when considering planning appeals in local authority areas where no current plans exist; and if he will make a statement.
Planning law requires that applications for planning permission must be determined in accordance with the development plan unless material considerations indicate otherwise. The weight to be given to any other considerations is a matter for the decision-taker in each case. The National Planning Policy Framework notes that decision-takers, including planning inspectors, may also give weight to relevant policies in emerging plans according to the stage of preparation of the emerging plan. The Planning Inspectorate provided guidance to its inspectors on this point following publication of the framework.
Yes0 people think so
No0 people think not
Would you like to ask a question like this yourself? Use our Freedom of Information site.