Ms Charlotte Sheridan:

The value and benefit of the ministerial guidelines is in the ability they give to respond to changing circumstances. In the past 20 years, we have seen many varying circumstances, particularly when one looks at the nature of our urban areas and the populations we have been trying to accommodate. The guidelines for apartments and other types of housing, for example, were about responding to a particular need at a particular time. We see value in presenting guidelines for how we respond to such needs to facilitate the provision of homes in a particular format that responds to the particular circumstances at a point in time. At the moment, viability is one of the key issues. We are also looking at vacancy in town centres and suburban places. There are locations in which there are no spaces left over after the planning is set out. There are places where it is difficult to implement new development. That is why we see value in something, for example, like a ministerial guideline in respect of low-rise, medium-density development. It is about having a bespoke response; it is not about undermining the development plan. Looking to the future, if we consider the types of developments we are talking about, there should be a really clear vision of what that development will be. The ministerial guidelines should complement it. We see value in having oversight of the process whereby consideration is given to the guidelines and people's opinion on them.