To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government if she will take steps to ensure that the Planning Inspectorate make clear to developers and local authorities that low quality in the design of housing schemes is a legitimate basis upon which planning applications may be refused; and if she will make a statement. (149980)

[holding answer 16 July 2007]: Planning policy statement (PPS) 1: Delivering Sustainable Development emphasises the importance of good design in new development and PPS3: Housing seeks to achieve high quality housing. Planning inspectors are aware of the heightened importance of good design in new housing development, of the need for housing schemes to be appropriate to their context and locally distinctive, and to take opportunities for improving an area’s character and quality. The Department is aware that inspectors, in applying the policies in these PPSs and related Government documents, are refusing housing appeals on grounds of failure to meet these policies.