New National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF) Published

The Labour Government has published an updated National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF) aimed at achieving its manifesto pledges to deliver record levels of housebuilding, significantly increase growth, and “unlock” the economic potential they consider the planning system to be holding back.

The main focus is on increasing housing supply and delivery, including initiatives to encourage housing development in the Green Belt. There's also an emphasis on public infrastructure, brownfield development, renewable/low carbon energy, and modern commercial development. Social rent is given more prominence as a key affordable housing tenure.

Key Points:

Development Plan Making

  • Strengthened duty for local authorities to cooperate, requiring effective strategic planning across boundaries.

  • Greater weight on strategic planning to ensure delivery of key development elements, notably public infrastructure.

  • Transitional arrangements to incentivise plan making and address delays in new development plans. In respect of emerging and future development plan preparation:

    o the requirements of the new NPPF will apply from 12th March 2025. However, if a draft Local Plan has reached an advanced (Regulation 19) stage or has been submitted for examination by this date, it will be examined under the provisions of the previous, and generally less onerous version of the NPPF (issued in December 2023).

    o for those plans which benefit from early preparation but which propose a lower level of housing supply (80% or less of the new housing requirement), there is a requirement for replacement plans to have reached the public examination stage June 2026.

Housing Supply and Affordability

  • Strong focus on delivering sufficient homes with a mandatory standard housing need methodology. This method includes a baseline calculation based on existing housing stock and an affordability adjustment for areas where housing costs exceed income.

  • Local authorities must show five years’ worth of housing land supply, with an additional 5% buffer to encourage choice/competition.

The Economy

  • New focus on modern economic development such as labs, giga factories, data centres, freight and logistics, and support for the digital economy and decarbonisation.

  • Policies relating to the town centre and other commercial development, as well as the rural economy and tourism, remain unchanged.

Effective Use of Land

  • Increased emphasis on approving brownfield land proposals.

  • Simplified policy on upward extensions to homes and buildings.

Green Belt and Grey Belt Policies

  • Fundamentals of green belt policy remain intact (e.g. boundaries only being reviewed in exceptional circumstances; development may only occur ‘in very special circumstances’ ; and the fundamental purpose of the green belt remains unchanged), however, there are several significant amendments:

    o Councils should review green belt boundaries “where an authority cannot meet its identified need for homes, commercial or other development through other means”, provided there is robust justification.

    o New scenarios where development on the Green Belt is not inappropriate, including the "Grey Belt" (brownfield land within the Green Belt). This is defined as land within the Green Belt which comprises brownfield land and any other land that does not strongly contribute to the specific green belt purposes of preventing unrestricted sprawl and the merging of towns into one another. Certain land which is subject to specific restrictions is excluded, for example local green space and heritage assets.

    o The NPPF establishes Golden Rules to be applied for major housing schemes within the Green Belt. Such schemes should provide fully policy compliant levels of affordable housing, necessary improvements to local or national infrastructure and new/improved accessible green spaces. In most cases, the level of affordable housing provision proposed should be 15% above the prevailing rate, up to a maximum of 50%, unless this would render the scheme unviable. Where development complies with the Golden Rules, the NPPF states that local authorities should give significant weight in favour of approving the scheme.

    o Opportunities to benefit from infilling and the replacement of existing buildings within the Green Belt have also been improved. There is now greater flexibility to show that the proposed development will not impact on Green Belt openness in its own right, without reliance on harm caused by the existing buildings. This is likely to provide greater flexibility to progress such schemes.

Climate Change and Flooding

  • Specific reference to the aim to transition to net zero by 2050.

  • Significant weight on supporting energy efficiency and low carbon heating.

  • Flexibility for renewable development outside identified areas.

Other Observations

  • Increased prominence of social rent as a category of affordable housing.

  • Local authorities directed to refuse applications for takeaways and fast food outlets near schools or similar child focussed locations.

  • Significant weight on delivering public service infrastructure.

  • Planning policy and decisions are now required to take account of public safety and security and provide increased support for the delivery of defence infrastructure and production.

  • Whilst the new NPPF retains protections for the environment and heritage assets, it removes some of the previous focus on aesthetics, such as "beauty and placemaking." Instead, the framework emphasises the importance of well-designed, functional, and sustainable places.

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