Following the publication of the much awaited revision of the National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF), we have set out below a summary of the main changes, with some commentary on the implications.
The headline points are that the changes focus on driving housing supply and delivery, including increased housing opportunities within the Green Belt. There is also additional emphasis on the delivery of public infrastructure, brownfield development, wider support for renewable/low carbon energy and on the delivery of more modern forms of commercial development. Social rent as a key affordable housing tenure is given more prominence.
The major points are:
Development Plan Making
- Greater weight is placed on the role of strategic planning to ensure delivery of key elements of development, notably public infrastructure.
- More responsibility is placed on strategic policy authorities to drive delivery and ensure cross plan boundary needs are met evenly.
- Transitional arrangements are in place in respect of emerging and future plan preparation:
- the requirements in this version of the NPPF will apply from 12th March 2025. However, if a draft 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, (December 2023) version of the NPPF.
- 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, see below), it is a requirement that they be at public examination by June 2026.
- these measures are to incentivise plan making and help address the delays, which have affected many authorities in preparing new development plans.
Delivering a Sufficient Supply of Homes
- There is now a requirement for local authorities to use a standard housing need methodology to inform their housing requirement and the new NPPF removes the exceptional circumstances justification which allowed many local authorities to adjust their housing calculations downwards. In future, many local authorities will have to plan for providing more housing land than formerly.
- In relation to maintaining the supply and delivery of housing:
- Local authorities are required to show that they have five years’ worth of housing land supply. The previous caveat, which allowed local authorities to only have a less onerous four years’ worth of supply if they had a draft plan under preparation, has now been removed.
- In addition to the identified need, a further 5% of housing land supply should be allowed for, to act as a buffer and to encourage choice/competition. This may need to be increased to 20% where the local authority area has been subject to a significant under-delivery in the previous three years.
- There are no changes to the approach for rural housing and in relation to the circumstances where homes in the countryside will be allowed and the policy approach remains as before.
The Economy
- Additional emphasis is placed, for both policy preparation and decision making, on the delivery of modern economic development such as labs, giga factories, data centres, freight and logistics and development supporting the digital economy and decarbonisation.
- Policy relating to the rural economy and tourism remains unchanged.
Effective Use of Land
- Increased emphasis is placed on approving proposals involving brownfield land. Given the attention already given to the use of this type of land, this change is very unlikely to have a decisive effect on growth.
- The policy on upward extensions to homes and buildings has been simplified and now contains fewer caveats, so as to strengthen support for these.
Development in the Green Belt
- As has been well trailed in the press, the revised NPPF increases opportunities to undertake development in the Green Belt subject to a number of important caveats.
- Where local authorities are looking to release Green Belt land for development, a sequential approach is established so that brownfield land should be considered first, then undeveloped “grey belt” and then other land.
- The NPPF formally defines grey belt 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.
- 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.
- 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
- This section inserts a specific reference to the aim to transition to net zero by 2050, adding in the specific time frame which was previously missing. This represents an increased emphasis on the net zero objective.
- The NPPF stresses the need to give significant weight to supporting energy efficiency and low carbon heating for both domestic and non-domestic schemes.
- Whilst areas for renewables can be identified in development plans, commercial renewable schemes can be provided for elsewhere provided they adhere to the criteria used in the relevant policies for identifying the renewable development areas. This, therefore, seeks to add additional flexibility to bring forward renewable development outside specifically identified areas.
Other Observations on the New NPPF
- Social rent is given increased prominence as one of the categories of affordable housing, having previously been subsumed within the broader definition of ‘affordable housing for rent’. Social rent is highlighted as being of particular importance in different parts of the new NPPF and this indicates the importance being placed on the delivery of this tenure as part of affordable housing.
- In relation to fast food uses, the NPPF now directs local authorities to refuse applications for take-aways and fast food places which are near schools or similar child focused locations.
- Significant weight should be given to the delivery of public service infrastructure as part of development schemes.
- Planning policy and decisions are now required to take account of public safety and security (prevention of terrorism) and provide increased support for the delivery of defence infrastructure and production.
Areas of Little Change
The sections on design, the natural and historic environment and on minerals remain largely unchanged.
The guidance on development within National Landscapes (formerly Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty and National Parks) remains unchanged and the presumption against major development, subject to public interest considerations, remains unaltered.
