PARLIAMENTARY WRITTEN QUESTION
Green Belt (27 January 2016)

To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what guidance his Department has issued on whether the existence of extant planning permission for development in the Green Belt would count as exceptional circumstances to permit a planning application for an alternative, less intrusive form of development in that location.

Asked by:
Sir Oliver Dowden (Conservative)

An extant planning permission does not prevent consideration of a further planning application for the same site. It would be for the local authority to assess each proposal on its merits, in the light of all material considerations, including the protections for Green Belt set out in our National Planning Policy Framework. If the development proposed would be inappropriate in Green Belt, the Framework states that planning permission should generally be refused. However, if the local authority finds that any harms caused by the development would be clearly outweighed by other considerations, and that very special circumstances justify planning permission, permission may be granted. If necessary the local authority can impose planning conditions or require design changes to mitigate any adverse impact.

A Local Development Order or Supplementary Planning Guidance would also have to be designed by the local authority to accord with policies in the Framework, including the need to protect the openness of Green Belt land.

Answered by:
Sir Brandon Lewis (Conservative)
4 February 2016