"I made it crystal clear that [the NPPF] provided for a localist approach and provided a framework for local decisions, and that I expected decisions to be taken in that vein," said Clark at a House of Commons debate.
Clark went to meet Inspectors from the Planning Inspectorate the day after the publication of the NPPF and warned them that he would be inspecting their decisions to ensure they uphold the "local" ethos of the NPPF.
"I will also expect to see a sample of the decisions that are being taken, including after the examination of plans, to ensure that that is happening. On the basis of my direct discussions with the Planning Inspectorate, I am very confident that that is understood," said Clark at the debate.
Clark said that before the publication of the NPPF the planning system led to a system of "tension and antagonism" because the Planning Inspectorate has been required to interpret "voluminous" national planning regulations that were inconsistent.
The Planning Inspectorate must recognise that the NPPF is a "localism document which it is to respect" said Clarke. Decisions must not be taken locally and then overturned by the Planning Inspectorate, I have made that very clear to the Inspectorate", he said.
However, some MPs said the real test is not the NPPF, but whether the new guidance is better than the old guidance.
"If the sum total of all local decisions to which the Minister has referred does not account for the amount of growth that the Government want to see delivered in the economy as a whole, what will be the Government’s answer to that?" said Clive Betts, MP for Sheffield South East.
MPs said that the test will be whether, as a result of the changes, we get more houses built, more green energy projects approved and more development in general.
