§ Mr. VazTo ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions if he will make a statement on his Department's policy towards planning gain. [35306]
§ Mr. CabornThe policy on planning gain is set out in DOE Circular 1/97. This states that, where appropriate, local planning authorities may seek to enter into planning obligations with a developer regarding the use of the land concerned or other land or buildings, provided all the policy tests are met.
In accordance with the Modernising Planning initiative I announced in January, seminars will be held shortly with a number of stakeholders in the planning system to encourage debate on the current use of planning obligations.