Government Correspondence

All of the letters and responses between our Cabinet Member for Planning and the Government set out below can also be viewed in this folder: Government Correspondence.

We submitted our draft Local Plan to the Secretary of State for Levelling-Up, Housing and Communities for independent examination on 14 February 2022. Since then correspondence, in the form of examination documents, has taken place between ourselves and the Inspector appointed to carry out the examination and this correspondence can be viewed on the Future Mole Valley webpage.

Proposed changes to the calculation of local housing need (July 2020)

The government’s standard method for assessing local housing need sets out the number of homes that a local authority should plan for.

Our Cabinet Member for Planning wrote a letter to the then Secretary of State for the then Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government in July 2020 to raise concerns about changes to this method and Mole Valley’s local housing need.

Changes to the current planning system consultation (September 2020)

In August 2020, the Government launched a consultation on  Changes to the current planning system. We responded to the Changes to the current planning system consultation in September 2020.

Planning for the future White Paper (October 2020)

At the same time as the Changes to the current planning system consultation, the Government also launched a consultation on a Planning for the future in a White Paper. We responded to the Planning for the future White Paper consultation in October 2020.

Supporting Housing Delivery and Public Service Infrastructure (January 2021)

In December 2020, the Government launched a consultation on Supporting housing delivery and public service infrastructure. We responded to the Supporting housing delivery and public service infrastructure consultation in January 2021.

Possible changes to National Planning Policy (October 2021)

In October 2021, our Cabinet Member for Planning wrote a letter to the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities to update him on MVDC’s progress on preparing a new Local Plan and regarding the then Prime Minister’s recent comments on house building on green fields in South East England.

The letter asks whether the then Prime Minister’s words will be issued as a Ministerial Statement, alongside amendments to the national planning policy framework and the standard method for calculating housing need.

Response from Minister for Housing (November 2021)

In November 2021, our Cabinet Member for Planning received a response from the then Minister for Housing, including a hand written note. Based on what the then Minister said, it is clear we should get a Local Plan in place.