Member

However, as the Minister may well be aware, it is rare for local planning authorities to deal with the issue of capacity by way of conditions or to always give capacity the attention it requires in the planning process. This is not surprising, given the level of technical understanding required of local planning authorities to deal with sewerage infrastructure issues. I urge the Minister to take further advice on this issue of capacity and the case law that has gone before it. I am not a lawyer; I am not even a humble theologian; I am a former teacher of cookery. However, I do think that the issue of capacity to deal with sewage, including treating it to render it harmless, is most importantly a material consideration. The position could be simplified by allowing the sewerage undertaker to refuse to connect where there is insufficient capacity.