§ 140. Mr. Evelyn Kingasked the Secretary of State for the Environment what estimate he has of the number of persons who have been refused consent to build a house at their own expense on the grounds that it constituted sporadic development.
§ Mr. Graham PageInformation on which such an estimate could be made is not readily available.
§ 141. Mr. Evelyn Kingasked the Secretary of State for the Environment if, in the light of the fact that last year some 32,000 persons, able and willing at their own expense to build houses for themselves, were refused planning consent to build, sometimes on grounds that were trivial, he will use his powers to liberalise planning policy.
§ Mr. Graham PageAs my hon. Friend the Under-Secretary of State told my hon. Friend on 27th January, information about the number of planning refusals for individual houses is not available. Where planning permission is refused, appeals are made to me in about 15 per 465W cent. of cases, and just under 30 per cent. of these are allowed. This does not suggest that planning authorities are exercising their powers unreasonably.—[Vol. 810, c. 133–4.]