Ms Anne Colgan:

It would be most welcome to have a rolling fund because at the moment that fund is competitive. Local authorities are competing against each other and other sites that may have equal validity. Having a rolling fund that responds to the deficits in infrastructure would be really valuable.

Regarding high-population centres and section 183, the devil is in the detail. I am not sure if the population of the centre makes a difference for the application of section 183. The issue here is the councillors have a measure of control over the disposal of the land and what happens on that land. That is as important on big pieces of land as it is on small pieces. It is also connected with the other provision in the Bill which provides that if a local authority wishes to sell a site, it must offer it first to the Land Development Agency. Those two provide a pincer movement around the council relating to its own land. It would rarely want to sell unless for a particular purpose in its development plan. That is why there is a problem with undermining that.

Like my colleague Councillor Sheahan, I do not have sufficient familiarity with the latitude regarding affordable houses.