Oral QuestionMinistry of Housing, Communities and Local Government

Whether her Department is taking steps to ensure housing targets account for protected landscapes.

Tabled: 25 February 2025Answered: 3 March 2025

Asked by

Edward Morello

Liberal DemocratWest Dorset

Answering Minister

the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government

Answer from Hansard

The Minister for Housing and Planning (Matthew Pennycook)

The Government are committed to maintaining strong protections for our protected landscapes. We are clear that the scale and extent of development within such designated areas should be limited, so that we are able to pass on their attractions and important biodiversity to future generations. National planning policy is clear that significant development within a national landscape should be refused, other than in exceptional circumstances where it can be demonstrated that the development is in the public interest.