Written question asked by Andrew George (Liberal Democrat) on Tuesday, 19 May 2009, in the House of Commons. It was due for an answer on Thursday, 21 May 2009. It was answered by Iain Wright (Labour) on Tuesday, 2 June 2009 on behalf of the Department for Communities and Local Government.

Local Development Frameworks

Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government whether her Department plans to provide funding for local planning authorities to undertake changes to local development frameworks contained in the proposed Planning Policy Statement 4.

Answer: As noted in the consultation impact assessment accompanying the new streamlined Planning Policy Statement 4 (PPS4), we do not envisage that our proposals will impose additional burdens or extra costs on local planning authorities. We believe that there is potential for real cost savings in the medium to long-term by presenting policies for economic development in an integrated way, particularly in terms of speedier and better quality plan-making, and decision taking in respect to planning applications.In particular, the revisions proposed to planning for town centres policy are amendments to the existing policy as set out in PPS6 "Planning for Town Centres", and are designed to improve the effectiveness of our 'town centres first' policy rather than making any fundamental change. Similarly, the approach to planning for economic development is intended to build upon the existing policy approach in PPG4 "Industrial, Commercial Development and Small Firms" by reinforcing messages and emphasising certain aspects of the approach.

Secondary information