Sustainable Communities Bill

My hon. Friend is pointing out some of the merits of the Bill and perhaps some of the drawbacks. One of its huge merits is that the Bill has opened up a debate on what is sustainable. Part of the problem is that local authorities have had ““sustainable”” stuck in front of many of the policies delivered to them, have been expected to implement them and have had very little say over how sustainability works locally. I welcome the Bill because it allows local people to have an input into what is going on in their area, instead of being told prescriptively how they must do things.