To ask Her Majesty's Government what conclusions they have reached from the responses to the draft Planning Policy Statement 15: Planning for the Historic Environment. [HL3075]

The responses to the consultation on the draft Planning Policy Statement (PPS) 15 supported the unified approach to the historic environment but raised concerns about some aspects of the draft. They gave a clear steer as to how these should be addressed. With the help of informal discussions and stakeholder feedback both during and after the consultation exercise we were able to propose changes to the draft which were tested with key practitioner and conservation interests. Once we were satisfied that the draft had been revised in a way that fully met the concerns raised during consultation, a final version was published as PPS 5 on 23 March.

The Government's formal response to the consultation, identifying the main issues raised and how they were addressed, was included in the summary of consultation responses published alongside the new PPS, which can be found on my Department’s website at http://www.communities.gov.uk/publications/planningandbuilding/pps 15summaryresponses.