HC Deb 18 May 1988 vol 133 c486W
67. Mr. Chapman

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he has any plans to seek to extend the powers of local planning authorities to refuse applications which are out of scale and character with existing developments in residential areas.

Mr. Waldegrave

Questions of scale and character are material considerations which planning authorities are entitled to take into account in considering applications for development in residential areas. Authorities can also incorporate density policies in local plans where they consider it appropriate to do so. Where they have such policies, they should generally be able to implement them through development control, provided that individual decisions are supported by adequate reasons.