As announced to Parliament on 30^th July, the Government has set out further detail of its “overhaul” of the planning system, with the publication of a much anticipated update to the National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF) for an 8-week consultation running until 24^th September 2024. A tracked change version of the document is available here, which was published alongside a Ministerial Statement, which is available here. 

Below we delve into some of the detail and summarise the key changes. We also provide initial thoughts on what it may mean for the planning and development industry. The new Government’s emerging position towards housing and planning has been widely reported since the election, however, yesterday’s announcements mark a genuine recognition of the industry’s longstanding concerns around the planning system and a seismic reversal of some Conservative amendments to the NPPF from December 2023, which were widely considered to be major obstacles to development.  

• Mandatory use of the Standard Method in assessing housing needs – The consultation NPPF proposes removing the reference to the exceptional circumstances in which the use of alternative approaches to assess housing need may be appropriate. Whilst Local Planning Authorities (LPAs) will be expected to make all efforts to allocate land in line with housing need as per the Standard Method, Authorities would be able to justify a lower housing requirement than the figure the method sets on the basis of local constraints on land and delivery. Nevertheless, LPAs will need to evidence and justify their approach through Local Plan consultation and examination, including demonstrating  they have taken all possible steps, including optimising density, sharing need with neighbouring authorities, and reviewing Green Belt boundaries, before a lower housing requirement will be considered.

• New Standard Method for assessing housing need – A new Standard Method is proposed to form the basis for calculating housing need. This uses a baseline set at a percentage of existing housing stock levels, designed to provide a stable baseline that drives a level of delivery proportionate to the existing size of settlements, rebalancing the national distribution to better reflect the growth ambitions across the Midlands and North. A stronger affordability multiplier is then applied to increase this baseline in proportion to price pressures, and previously applied caps and additions are removed to create an “objective assessment of need”.

  The rebalancing of distribution is reflected in the revised figures published alongside the NPPF consultation, which show a:

  • 99.28% increase in the North East (rising from 6,123 to 12,202)
  • 75.92% increase in the North West (rising from 21,497 to 37,817)
  • 46.71% increase in Yorkshire and the Humber (rising from 18,699 to 27,433)

  All other regions also see an increase under the proposed method, with the exception of London where the calculated needs falls by 18.35% from 98,822 to 80,693.

  The effect of the revised Standard Method results in the overall national housing need rising by 21.73%, from 305,223 to 371,541 annually.

• Removal of the Standard Method Urban Uplift – The 35% “Urban Uplift” that currently applies to the Standard Method of the 20 largest cities and urban centres is proposed to be removed. This is in favour of an approach that distributes growth to a wider range of urban areas without the need for a specific urban adjustment and is upheld by the Duty to Cooperate requirement which is proposed to be strengthened by new mechanisms for cross-boundary strategic planning.

   

• Reinstating the requirement for a 5 Year Housing Land Supply (5YHLS) – The requirement to demonstrate a 5 years’ supply of specific, deliverable housing sites is reinstated, irrespective of progress in preparing a new Local Plan. The 5% and 20% buffer that previously applied in calculating 5YHLS is also proposed to be restored, with the latter only being applied where an LPA significantly under delivers against their housing requirement as measured through the Housing Delivery Test or local housing need where relevant.

   

• Supporting Previously Developed Land in the Green Belt and the Grey Belt - The consultation document seeks to relax some of the restrictions that currently apply to ‘Previously Developed Land’ (PDL) and the limited infilling of land in the Green Belt, as well as widen the definitions of appropriate development. PDL is therefore still prioritised in sustainable locations. In addition, it is proposed to insert the below definition of “Grey Belt” land into the glossary of the NPPF, to provide criteria for assessing whether land makes a limited contribution to the Green Belt purposes.

“For the purposes of Plan-making and decision-making, grey belt is defined as land in the Green Belt comprising Previously Developed Land and any other parcels and/or areas of Green Belt land that make a limited contribution to the five Green Belt purposes (as defined in para 140 of this Framework) but excluding those areas or assets of particular importance listed in footnote 7 of this Framework (other than land designated as Green Belt).”

In instances where an LPA cannot demonstrate a 5YHLS or is delivering less than 75% against its Housing Delivery Test, or where there is unmet commercial or other need,  development on the Green Belt will not be considered inappropriate when it is on sustainable “Grey Belt” land. It would also be necessary to demonstrate that development would not fundamentally undermine the function of the Green Belt across the area of the plan, and that the following “golden rules” are satisfied, meaning that ‘very special circumstances’ would not need to be demonstrated:

• In the case of residential development, the provision at least 50% affordable housing, with an appropriate proportion being Social Rent, subject to viability;
• The provision of necessary improvements to local or national infrastructure, including delivery of new schools, GP surgeries, transport links, care homes and nursery places; and
• The provision of new, or improvements to existing, local green spaces that are accessible to the public.

• Require Green Belt reviews to be undertaken where needs cannot otherwise be met – The consultation suggests that all Green Belt authorities (including regional authorities) must undertake a review  of the boundary in instances where it cannot meet its identified housing, commercial or other needs, without altering Green Belt boundaries. 

• Remove references to “Beauty” and “Beautiful” – In relation to well-designed development, it is proposed to remove references within the current NPPF to “Beauty” and “Beautiful” which are widely recognised as being subjective and difficult to define, particularly in the context of the National Design Guide and National Model Design Code which offer a clearer framework for a achieving well-designed places.

• Include references to support key growth industries – To support the growth of key growth industries, the NPPF is proposed to be updated to ensure the planning system supports the development of laboratories, gigafactories, digital infrastructure (including datacentres) and facilities associated freight and logistics.

• Bolstered support for renewable and low carbon energy development – The consultation proposes to give significant weight in the decision-making process to the benefits associated with renewable and low carbon energy generation, and the contribution of proposals to meeting a net zero future. Further amendments seek to set a stronger expectation that Local Planning Authorities proactively identify sites for renewable and low carbon development when producing plans, where it is likely that in allocating a site, it would help secure development.

• Increase the NSIP threshold for solar and on-shore wind projects – In response to significant advancement in technology and concerns that the current NSIP regime for solar and on-shore wind projects is causing market distortion, it is proposed to set the threshold at which projects are determined as Nationally Significant to 100MW for on-shore wind projects and 150MW for solar projects.

• Effect on Plan Making  The NPPF consultation proposes several changes to plan- making. The intent is to drive all plans to adoption as fast as possible, with a goal of achieving universal plan coverage in this Parliament. The provisions of the NPPF will generally be adopted immediately following final publication, although a few transitional provisions will apply, which means that:

• Plans at examination (Regulation 22) will continue. However, where there is a significant gap between the plan and the new local housing need figure, authorities will need to begin a plan immediately in the new system to address the shortfall.

• Plans at an advanced stage of preparation (Regulation 19) will be allowed to continue to examination unless there is a significant gap between the plan and the new local housing need figure. In this event, authorities will have to rework their plans to take account of the higher figure.

• Plans at an earlier stage should be prepare plans against the revised version of the National Planning Policy Framework and progress as quickly as possible.

• Plans that had reached Regulation 18 stage are no longer protected, or “let off the hook” on the basis of just a four year housing land supply, and consequently they can once again be challenged for having less than a 5YHLS.

The Government has also adopted a carrot and stick approach to incentivising authorities to progress and have up-to-date local plans in place. Recognising the additional work created, the Government has offered to provide financial support to assist authorities that are required to amend plans. The consultation also sets out proposals to amend the local plan intervention criteria to drive progress including taking over an authority’s plan making directly.

Summary

The consultation seeks responses to 106 questions for consultees to answer, which also includes matters that go beyond just the proposed new NPPF, such as appropriate structures for the localisation of planning authority fees and water infrastructure. The proposed changes, nevertheless, mark a clear shift in the direction of planning policy, which are a welcome step in the right direction.  

In addition to the new NPPF, a Policy Statement has been published on the Government’s intention to spearhead a new generation of New Towns which will include large-scale communities built on greenfield land and separated from other nearby settlements, as well more embedded urban extensions and regeneration schemes. A Taskforce has been established to lead on this initiative and advise ministers on appropriate locations for significant housing growth, including a final shortlist of recommendations within 12 months. We can expect to hear more about this in due course.

There is obviously a lot to digest over the coming few weeks.  We will continue to monitor the impacts of the proposed NPPF changes, working with developers, local authorities, and landowners to understand how they are affected, identify opportunities for growth and how solutions to constraints can be reached. 

We will also be issuing more detailed updates on a range of related topic matters over the coming weeks and months.