8. What plans he has to require that all brownfield sites within a local authority should be developed before planning permission is granted to build on green belt land. (120891)

11. What plans his Department has to bring forward proposals to encourage commercial development on brownfield sites. (120894)

The national planning policy framework encourages local authorities to reuse brownfield land that is not of high environmental value. It also maintains strong protections for the green belt, making it clear that most forms of new development are inappropriate in the green belt.

I welcome the Minister to his new position.

My constituents are concerned about the threat to the green belt, particularly as councils seek to fight the five-year land supply provisions. Additionally, we are seeing an unprecedented number of applications for development of land classified as “protected area of search”—PAS—land and greenfield land, as developers take advantage of that period. What support can the Government give to residents in my constituency who are trying to save those sites and who want the brownfield sites to be developed? As this is the Minister’s first Question Time at the Dispatch Box, may I invite him to come to my constituency to see how important that land is, and to meet members of my residents groups?

I would be delighted to visit my hon. Friend’s constituency. I know that he has worked tremendously hard with the Rawdon Billing Action Group and with Save Kirklees Knoll to ensure that those precious green spaces are not developed in the future. I can assure him, for now, that there is nothing to stop Leeds city council maintaining the protection of green-belt land in its local plan.

York has some important brownfield developments, including part of the Nestlé factory site that is surplus to requirements, as well as a former British Sugar factory site and York Central, a huge site next to the station. What are the Government doing to ensure that Growing Places money is delivered to help to develop that kind of site?

We have allocated £330 million to this, but I would point out to the hon. Gentleman that his city council has not had a formally adopted local plan for 40 years. I hope that he will join me in pressing his colleagues on York city council to get on with it and to draw up such a plan, because that would give his constituents much more influence over the development in their area.

Will the Minister accept a simple truth—namely, that when offered the choice between building on a greenfield site or a brownfield site, a developer will always go for the former? Counties such as Wiltshire have no green belt as such, but they nevertheless have some of the finest rural countryside in England. That countryside has no official protection. Will my hon. Friend confirm to the House that this Government stand for protecting areas such as Wiltshire against unreasonable development?

This Government want to protect the most beautiful countryside in Wiltshire and across the country, but we also believe that it is for local people, through local authorities, to decide exactly which sites should be developed. I am absolutely sure that my hon. Friend, through his local authority, will be able to protect the green spaces that his constituents enjoy.

If the Minister is serious about this, he needs to stand up to his right hon. Friend the Chancellor of the Exchequer, who has said that he is opposed to the development of 1,500 homes in the so-called Wilmslow Vision in his constituency, while being quite content for large-scale development of the green belt to take place in the rest of the country. Does the Minister think that the Chancellor is a nimby?

I hope you will forgive me, Mr Speaker, if I duck that last question, but I am very happy to clarify the position. It is indeed very simple—there are certain sites within the green belt that are currently brownfield, and it is important and right for local authorities to try to bring them forward for development. Not all the green belt is beautiful green fields. Some of it is, as was said earlier, a quarry or has some other brownfield use. It is important to focus on bringing those sites forward first before thinking of anything further.