§ Mr. Moneyasked the Secretary of State for the Environment whether he will introduce legislation restricting future grants of planning permission for housing development to a period of one year only, unless a building start is made within that period.
§ Mr. Graham PageAuthorities already have discretion to restrict the life of planning permissions to a short period such as a year where the circumstances warrant it. Legislation making such a restriction mandatory would require so many exceptions, for example, giving time to provide roads and sewers, that it is unlikely that it would materially accelerate development, which I assume is the effect my hon. Friend seeks to achieve.