1. What steps is the Welsh Government taking to ensure that local communities have a voice in the planning system? OAQ53865

Communities have a central voice in the planning system when local development plans are prepared and planning applications determined. Local planning authorities and developers are encouraged to go further than the statutory minimum to realise the benefits that collaboration and involvement brings to the quality of the built environment.

Thank you, Minister. I know that you're aware of the huge opposition to the proposal to start recovering aggregate at the much-loved beauty spot called 'The Canyons' in my constituency. I, of course, understand you can't comment on a live planning appeal, but, as you know, residents were deeply concerned about whether their voices had been fully heard at the lengthy public inquiry. I've had complaints about key documents being submitted late by developers, statements of common ground being submitted just the night before the inquiry, and no verbatim record being taken of proceedings, to name but a few. Minister, would you agree with me that it is crucial in contentious planning inquiries that the voice of the community is fully heard? And what steps can you take as Minister to enure that this happens and also that the whole process becomes more open and transparent?

Yes, I'm very grateful for the Member's well-articulated views on the involvement of communities in planning appeals, which she shared with me in the meeting that we had. I have raised these concerns with the Planning Inspectorate's director for Wales. I know my colleague is well aware that the planning appeal is currently before the Welsh Ministers for determination, and understands that I can't comment on any aspect of the case because to do so could prejudice the outcome of the decision or risk a challenge to the decision itself. 

Minister, last year, the Local Government and Communities Committee of the Scottish Parliament reported on the Planning (Scotland) Bill. They called for the Bill to encourage more meaningful engagement on planning applications. This approach was welcomed by the Royal Town Planning Institute Scotland, which said that they wanted to create a more collaborative planning system, where communities and other partners are engaged at the start of the process to identify and agree what is needed. What study has the Minister made of the proposals contained in the Planning (Scotland) Bill to see what lessons can be learned to enhance the voice of communities in the planning process in Wales, please?

I'm very aware of the process going on in Scotland. We have a very transparent and comprehensive engagement with local communities, businesses, stakeholders and neighbouring authorities in our local development plan process already to ensure all concerns and aspirations are taken into account. We also have a community involvement scheme, which sets out how local communities can engage in the LDP process. The planning legislation here in Wales already says that the views of local communities must be taken into account when preparing the local development plan.

As you know, I'm sure, local development plans must be adopted by a resolution of the full council, which ensures a democratic process, taking into account local views to be incorporated in that decision-making process, and they are adopted following a full public scrutiny process where all interested parties can, and very frequently do, make their views known to an independent inspector. There also follows a six-week challenge period after the plan is adopted, enabling any person to object if they consider the correct preparation procedures have not been adhered to. 

Many Members, however, have made some other submissions to me over the years about how various bits of the planning system, particularly the development control system, could be made more open and transparent. I've recently announced that we're looking at seeing whether we can have an independent planning inspectorate for Wales, separate to that for England, and we will be taking those two proposals forward when we look at our planning law. Also, the Counsel General has said that the first consolidation measures that we would look at in Wales are likely to be in the planning field. 

May I support the comments made by Lynne Neagle? It is important that we strengthen the voice of the local community within the planning regime. What’s disappointing, of course, is that Plaid Cymru did table amendments to the planning Bill in this very place in 2013 to do exactly that, but that was rejected by the Labour Government, and they voted against those amendments, as they did, by the way, when we tabled amendments to the same Bill calling for an independent planning inspectorate for Wales. Just last week, I welcomed your written statement that the Welsh Government had carried out a u-turn on that issue and now supported the Plaid Cymru policy, having been calling for that over many years. Will you carry out another u-turn, therefore, and support what we were calling for in 2013, namely to give the right to communities to appeal planning applications, which then, as we would all wish to see, would give a far stronger voice to our communities within that system?

Well, I'm pleased the Member is pleased about the announcement—if that's not too many affirmatives—and welcomes the recent announcement that we're looking into the feasibility of separating the Planning Inspectorate for Wales. And we're doing that for a number of reasons, which he'll be familiar with, but not least that the position is changing rapidly in terms of the divergence of law as it's applied. I'm committed to looking at all aspects of the planning process to see whether we can improve the voice of the community, particularly in the development control process, so in the specific application process. I'm personally not convinced of the need for a third-party or further appeal, but I do think that there are strengthening measures that can be taken, particularly in terms of site inspections and so on, to allow the voice of the community to be heard. I think the current process can seem very arcane from the outside. So, we are looking to see what other amendments to the development control process we can make, and we will very shortly be going out to consultation on a national development framework to put the overarching plan in place as well. So, I'm very hopeful that we will see a full development of the planning process in Wales with all of the strategic levels of the plan in place, and with the voice of the citizen heard at the planning stage for all of those, but I'm not yet convinced that a third-party appeal ought to be part of that process.