Draft Revisions to the NPPF - Key Changes

Here is a summary of the key changes:

• A reversal of several of the changes made to the NPPF in December 2023, including re-establishing the requirement for all local authorities, regardless of local plan status, to demonstrate a 5 year housing land supply, and replacing references to ‘beauty’ with ‘well-designed’ buildings and places.

• Amendments to the presumption in favour of sustainable development, clarifying that policies that can be considered out-of-date relate to the ‘supply of land’ (i.e. those which set an overall requirement, allocations and allow for windfall development), and adding explicit references to the need to consider policies relating to location, design and the delivery of affordable housing.

• The introduction of a new mandatory Standard Method (SM) for establishing housing need. Local planning authorities (LPAs) will only be able to justify a lower housing requirement than set by the SM if there are areas or assets of particular important that restrict development, such as a National Park, protected habitats and flood risk areas, and they will need to take all possible steps, including optimising density, sharing need with neighbouring authorities and reviewing Green Belt boundaries, before a lower housing requirement will be considered.

• Amendments strengthen in principle support for development on brownfield land, and the Government is considering broadening the definition of brownfield land to include hardstanding and glasshouses.

• LPAs will be required to review Green Belt boundaries where an authority cannot meet its housing, commercial or other needs. A sequential test is proposed to guide release, which will consider previously developed land first, then ‘grey belt’ sites and finally higher performing sites where these can be made sustainable. Where land is released from the Green Belt for major development, the revised NPPF introduces ‘golden rules’ that require developments to provide at least 50% affordable housing (subject to viability), necessary improvements to local or national infrastructure and new or improved local green spaces that are accessible to the public.

• LPAs will be required to identify ‘grey belt’ sites.  Grey belt sites are defined as comprising previously developed land, and any other areas of Green Belt that make a limited contribution to the five Green Belt purposes, but excluding areas or assets of particular importance. In instances where an LPA cannot meet housing, commercial or other needs, the revised NPPF states that development on the Green Belt will not be considered inappropriate when it is on sustainable ‘grey belt’ land and where ‘golden rules’ for major development are satisfied.

• A revised chapter on economic growth, which requires LPAs to identify appropriate sites to support key industries such as laboratories, gigafactories (essential for the electric vehicle supply chain) and digital infrastructure. These changes seek to ensure that the planning system meets the needs of a modern and changing economy.

• Increased support for renewable energy schemes, including onshore wind, to help meet the Government’s objective of reaching zero carbon electricity generation by 2030.

If you would like to find out more, or have any questions on how these changes may affect your projects, please don’t hesitate to get in contact.