On the 07 August 2018 the Bishop of St Albans, the Rt Revd Dr Alan Smith received a written answer from Lord Bourne about planning policy in rural areas.
Planning Obligations: Rural Areas
The revised National Planning Policy Framework was published on 24 July 2018 and sets out the government’s planning policies for England and how these are expected to be applied.
This includes policy that provision of affordable housing should not be sought for residential developments that are not major developments, other than in designated rural areas where policies may set out a lower threshold of 5 units or fewer. The national planning policy framework also states that in rural areas planning policies and decisions should be responsive to local circumstances and support housing developments that reflect local needs.
Further to this we have set out a new approach to viability. This will mean that developers know the contributions that they are expected to make and local communities are clear about the infrastructure and affordable housing they will get.
HL9891
Via Parliament.UK