“Nowhere is decisive reform needed more urgently than in the case of our planning system”

Following Rachel Reeves' statement on the new UK's Government's intentions to reform the planning system in July, Angela Rayner, the Deputy Prime Minister and Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government announced publication of the new revised draft National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF) on Tuesday for consultation.

As anticipated, there are some fundamental step changes in approach in areas including :

• Housing;
• Green Belt; and
• Energy.

Here, we review some key changes.

Delivering a sufficient supply of Homes

The draft new NPPF introduces significant updates to housing delivery guidance, aiming to address housing shortages and affordability issues:

• Additional emphasis on the need for local planning authorities to maintain up-to-date Local Plans, with a clear expectation for universal coverage.
• 5 Year Housing Land Supply (5YHLS) targets return to the NPPF.  Local Planning Authorities should maintain a supply of specific deliverable sites “…sufficient to provide a minimum of five years' worth of housing against their housing requirement set out in adopted strategic policies, or against their local housing need where the strategic policies are more than five years old. The supply of specific deliverable sites should in addition include a buffer (moved forward from later in the plan period) of: a) 5% to ensure choice and competition in the market for land; or b) 20% where there has been significant under delivery of housing over the previous three years, to improve the prospect of achieving the planned supply”  [paragraph 76]
• Prescribes use of a revised version of the “standard method” for calculating housing needs. This updated method eliminates the previous 35% urban uplift for 20 towns and cities as well as seeking to promote a more balanced distribution of housing targets across all regions.

The change to the standard method aims to push Local Plan ambitions towards meeting the Government's 1.5 million homes target. The majority of Local Authorities will therefore need to either allocate additional housing sites in emerging local plans or approve applications for sustainable housing sites that aren't allocated in order to meet its new 5YHLS requirement. This represents an opportunity for landowners, promoters and developers to bring forward sustainable housing sites for consideration in the short term.

Protecting Green Belt land

The draft NPPF proposes that housing or commercial (or other) needs can expressly justify 'exceptional circumstances' for Green Belt release, guiding that LPAs should review and, if necessary, alter Green Belt boundaries when they cannot fully meet housing (demonstrate 5YHLS) or commercial requirements.

• “…Exceptional circumstances include, but are not be limited to, instances where an authority cannot meet its identified need for housing, commercial or other development through other means.  In these circumstances authorities should review Green Belt boundaries and propose alterations to meet these needs in full, unless the review provides clear evidence that such alterations would fundamentally undermine the function of the Green Belt across the area of the plan as a whole.” [paragraph 142]
• The concept of 'Grey Belt' land is introduced.  “…Where it is necessary to release Green Belt land for development, plans should give first consideration to previously-developed land in sustainable locations, then consider grey belt land in sustainable locations which is not already previously-developed, and only then consider other sustainable Green Belt locations.” [paragraph 144]
• Annex 2 now defines Grey Belt 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).”

But, development on land released from the green belt must meet the criteria set out in the draft new NPPF at paragraph 155:

“Where major development takes place on land which has been released from the Green Belt through plan preparation or review, or on sites in the Green Belt permitted through development management, the following contributions should be made:

a. In the case of schemes involving the provision of housing, at least 50% affordable housing [with an appropriate proportion being Social Rent], subject to viability;

b. Necessary improvements to local or national infrastructure; and

c. The provision of new, or improvements to existing, green spaces that are accessible to the public. Where residential development is involved, the objective should be for new residents to be able to access good quality green spaces within a short walk of their home, whether through onsite provision or through access to offsite spaces.” [paragraph 155]

A new Annex 4 is included within the NPPF setting out the approach to viability testing on Green Belt sites.

These changes aim to balance housing delivery and economic growth with protection.  With paragraph 142 and the new Grey Belt definition local authorities are encouraged to unlock appropriate land for development while still preserving the core functions of the Green Belt as a whole.

Planning for Climate Change

Planning support for renewable energy and low carbon energy sources (and associated infrastructure) is emphasised at paragraph 161 expressly requiring LPAs to identify (not consider identifying) suitable areas for development:

“Local planning authorities should support planning applications for all forms of renewable and low carbon development. When determining planning applications for these developments, local planning authorities should:

a) not require applicants to demonstrate the overall need for renewable or low carbon energy, and give significant weight to the proposal's contribution to renewable energy generation and a net zero future;

b) recognise that even small-scale and community-led projects provide a valuable contribution to cutting greenhouse gas emissions;

c) in the case of applications for the repowering and life-extension of existing renewable sites, give significant weight to the benefits of utilising an established site.” [paragraph 164]

Footnote 59 relating to the need to demonstrate community support for wind energy projects, and Footnote 60 – relating to the presumption against wind energy applications in areas not identified for such development where community support has not been demonstrated are both deleted.

Next Steps

Consultation on the draft version of the revised NPPF closes 24th September 2024.

The Secretary of State made clear in her statement that consultation is set to be “fast tracked” with adoption targeted by the end of September.  However, the Government will be required to diligently consider all submitted representations to avoid legal challenges. Taking account of the need to consider representations, CS consider adoption by the end of September unlikely.  It will be interesting to see whether all the changes survive the consultation.

In the interim the Secretary of State's statement is a material consideration in the determination of planning applications and appeals, if Officers or Inspectors deem the changes and direction relevant to the facts of the case.

Comments on the draft NPPF can be made via the following link: https://consult.levellingup.gov.uk/planning/planning-reform/

Or by emailing: PlanningPolicyConsultation@communities.gov.uk

For further information, please don't hesitate to contact our team.