§ Lord Taylor of Warwickasked Her Majesty's Government:
What steps they will take to encourage planning authorities to target investment in smaller towns and district neighbourhoods. [HL5463]
§ The Minister of State, Office of the Deputy Prime Minister (Lord Rooker)Planning Policy Guidance Note 6 (PPG6)—Town Centres and Retail Development—sets out the Government's planning policy on investment in town and other centres, and must be taken into account by planning authorities in the exercise of their planning functions. It directs development for all key town centre uses (including retail, leisure and offices) to central locations, specifically identifying district and local centres as suitable, accessible locations for development of an appropriate scale.
PPG6 is currently being reviewed, and will be replaced with Planning Policy Statement 6 (PPS6): Town Centres. A consultation draft of PPS6 is due to be published by the end of this year. PPS6 will carry forward and develop this focus on smaller towns and centres, and be accompanied by some good practice guidance to further assist planning authorities in 218WA equipping smaller centres to compete. This good practice guidance (Strategies for Smaller Centres) will be published with the final version of PPS6 in 2004.