Questions Without Notice from Party Spokespeople

Part of 2. Questions to the Minister for Housing and Local Government – in the Senedd at 2:34 pm on 27 March 2019.

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Photo of Leanne Wood Leanne Wood Plaid Cymru 2:34, 27 March 2019

You are. Okay, I'll carry on with my questioning, then, if that's the case.

It is arguable that at the moment the planning system is not delivering, and you must be prepared to make major reforms in planning now. Your responsibility is also local authorities. Now, we currently know that large developers can always threaten to appeal decisions to a planning inspectorate and claim their legal costs back, and that's a right, of course, that communities and local objectors don't have. Now, planning departments, as you said, have been cut, and, as a result, they increasingly rely on fees for their services as an income stream, and I think that's a clear conflict of interest. So, what support are you putting in place to stop local authorities being bullied by housing developers into watering down affordable housing, and other planning requirements, and stop the lacklustre section 106 agreements that, as we've seen in London, can actually entrench community divisions?