Questions Without Notice from the Party Leaders

Part of 1. Questions to the First Minister – in the Senedd at 1:59 pm on 29 January 2019.

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Photo of Mark Drakeford Mark Drakeford Labour 1:59, 29 January 2019

Well, the Member is right, I'm not going to comment on the individual case. There is an important point behind what he is saying, which is that any of these matters is a balance between many different factors at play. The planning process is designed to try and achieve that balance, but any person or interest group taking part in any particular example will have strong views. In the end, these things have to be reconciled and they end up being reconciled in a particular decision. Not everybody will agree with that, it's impossible to imagine that they would, but I think that the planning policy we have in Wales and the policies that were recently refreshed by my colleague Lesley Griffiths, when she was responsible for this matter, offer us the best opportunity to make sure that the process is able to hear from all of those who have an interest in a matter, to weigh up the different outcomes that are being pursued, and then in the end to make a decision to allow a matter to be moved forward.