Recent changes to the National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF) have implications for businesses in England.
These include:
- Planning conditions on design and materials: The updated NPPF introduces a new paragraph (140) that encourages planning authorities to use conditions requiring clear and accurate drawings/details of a scheme’s design and materials. The aim is to enhance certainty for those implementing planning permission, ensuring they understand how to comply with the granted permission.
- Integration of 'beauty': The revised NPPF emphasizes the consideration of 'beauty' across policy. While the NPPF lacks substantial guidance on assessing beauty, this responsibility will primarily fall to design codes. This shift underscores the importance of creating visually appealing and well-designed spaces.
- Five-year housing land supply: The new NPPF removes the requirement for authorities to demonstrate a five-year housing land supply on an annual basis if they have an up-to-date local plan containing a deliverable five-year supply of land at its examination. While the changes aim to incentivize Local Planning Authorities (LPAs) to update their Local Plans, some in the industry express concern that they may not fully support higher levels of housing delivery overall.
- Support for specific categories of housing: The revised NPPF highlights the importance of small and medium-sized sites in achieving housing requirements. It also explicitly requires LPAs to consider the housing needs of older people, including those requiring retirement housing, housing with care, and care homes. Local authorities should encourage the establishment of exception sites for “community-led development” on land that would not typically qualify as rural exception sites.
- Energy efficiency of buildings: New Paragraph 164 in the NPPF emphasizes that local authorities when evaluating planning applications, must assign “significant weight” to the necessity of supporting “energy efficiency and low carbon heating improvements” through building adaptations.
- Changes to the green belt boundaries and the allocation of agricultural land: The NPPF continues to protect the green belt, with no requirement for planning authorities to review the green belt in response to housing needs. Paragraph 181 now requires local authorities to consider the availability of agricultural land used for food production when allocating development sites. Developers must take an evidence-based approach to assess the condition of agricultural land before proposing development schemes. The availability of land for food production is now explicitly part of this assessment.
Next Steps
The government is now consulting on further changes to the planning regime and has launched consultations on:
- Strengthening planning policy for brownfield development
- Changes to various permitted development rights
- An accelerated planning system
Get Involved
You can share your industry insight into the impact of the proposals on land availability for housing and commercial builds, quality of housing provision and capacity building within Local Planning Authorities by contacting Nicky Williams. Consultations close at the end of March 2024.
Join the Planning Policy Working Group and play a pivotal role in setting the strategic direction for the CBI's planning policy initiatives. Your participation will directly contribute to shaping policy proposals and recommendations. Contact Nicky Williams for more information.
