The LGA Independent Group summarises key aspects of the NPPF consultation announcements.
Set out below is a summary of the proposed reforms to the National Planning Policy Framework and other changes to the planning system.
Local Plan progress and application of the changes
- Where there is an “operative” Spatial Development Strategy (SDS) in place that is less than 5 years old, the SDS will continue to provide the housing requirement for relevant emerging local plans.
- Plans at examination will continue to be examined under the version of the NPPF they were submitted under. However, if the revised LHN figure is more than 200 dwellings per annum higher than the annual housing requirement set out in the adopted version of the plan, upon introduction of the new plan-making system, the local planning authority will be required to begin preparation of a plan under the new system as soon as possible, or in line with any subsequent arrangements set out to manage the roll-out of the new system.
- Plans that have reached Regulation 19 publication stage but not yet been submitted for examination one month after the revised framework is published, with a gap of no more than 200 dwellings per annum between the local planning authority’s revised LHN figure and its proposed housing requirement (as set out in the Publication version of the plan), should also progress to examination under the version of the NPPF it has used when preparing the plan thus far.
- However, those with a more significant gap of over 200 dwellings per annum between the local planning authority’s revised LHN figure and the emerging housing requirement will need to revise its plan in line with the revised NPPF before submitting the plan for examination no more than 18 months after the publication of the revised NPPF.
- The Government states that it recognises these arrangements would require some local planning authorities to undertake unforeseen additional work and reopen engagement with communities. Therefore, the Government will provide direct funding support to help these authorities progress their plans to examination quickly.
- All plans at earlier stages of preparation - (i.e. plans that have not yet reached Regulation 19 stage one month after the revised NPPF is published) - should be prepared against the revised version of the NPPF and progressed as quickly as possible.
- It is the intention to implement the new plan-making system as set out in the Levelling- up and Regeneration Act from summer or autumn 2025. Current system plans that are not subject to the transitional arrangements set out above will need to be submitted for examination under the existing 2004 Act system no later than December 2026.
Intervention
- Government is intending to change the Local Plan intervention criteria in addition to the legal tests already set out in the 2004 Act.
Housing need and targets
- Please refer to the spreadsheet setting out the new targets by council.
- Government intends to restore the 5-year housing land supply (5YHLS), restore the 5 per cent buffer on the 5YHLS, remove the urban uplift and disallow a fixing of the 5-year HLS through annual position statements.
- The new Standard Method will be based on using a baseline set at a percentage of existing housing stock levels, a stronger affordability multiplier and removing caps and additions and all councils should use this to assess housing need.
Additional changes include:
- Authorities can seek to evidence a lower housing requirement after demonstrating optimising density, sharing need with neighbouring authorities, reviewing green belt boundaries.
- Strengthening the Duty to Cooperate and introducing new cross-boundary strategic planning.
- Moving to universal strategic planning covering functional economic areas within the next five years.
- Removal of local character account.
- Move away from district-wide design coding to site-specific design codes.
- Reinstating the requirement to demonstrate a 5-year housing land supply at all times.
- Focus on supply of land as the primary presumption in favour of ‘sustainable development’.
- Growth on larger than local scale, new mechanisms for cross-boundary strategic planning, delivery of Local Growth Plans and Local Nature Recovery Strategies.
- Universal coverage of strategic planning within this Parliament to support elected Mayors overseeing the development and agreement of Spatial Development Strategies (SDSs) for their areas – also outside of mayoral areas explore most effective arrangements and ‘most appropriate geographies’.
Brownfield / Grey belt / Green Belt
- There will be a Green Belt review.
- 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.
- There will be a requirement for local planning authorities to undertake a review [of the green belt] where an authority cannot meet its identified housing, commercial or other need without altering Green Belt boundaries.
- The release of land should not be supported where doing so would fundamentally undermine the function of the Green Belt across the area of the plan as a whole.
- There will be golden rules for land released from Green Belt focused on communities and nature.
The following are required where land is released through plans or individual planning decisions:
- In the case of schemes involving the provision of housing, at least 50 per cent affordable housing, with an appropriate proportion being Social Rent, subject to viability.
- Necessary improvements to local or national infrastructure, including delivery of new schools, GP surgeries, transport links, care homes and nursery places, to deliver well-designed, connected places, recognising that local leaders are best placed to identify the infrastructure that their communities need; and
- The provision of new, or improvements to existing, local green spaces that are accessible to the public – where residential development is involved, new residents should be able to access good quality green spaces within a short walk of their homes, whether through onsite provision or through access to offsite facilities.
Viability testing
- There are options set out for new viability testing based around benchmark land values and viability presumptions.
Renewables and climate change
- The proposal is to increase the Mega Wattage thresholds for wind and solar at which point it becomes a nationally significant installation and removing additional tests for onshore wind.
- Other references to climate change, carbon, flood risk, water resilience and removing footnotes on the consideration of the availability of agricultural land used for food production.
Key industries and other priorities
- The Government has set out its priority industries where they want to make it easier to build, such as, laboratories; gigafactories; digital infrastructure; and freight and logistics.
- Other areas referenced in the proposals are transport planning, promoting healthy communities and Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONBs) now being referred to as National Landscapes.
Funding and charges for planning applications
- Householder applications fees increased from £258 to £528 – aim to introduce by the end of the year.
- Asking views on other fees/areas of no charge.
- Seeking views on full localisation of planning fees and local variation from a default national fee – including Development Consent Orders cost recovery.
The Five Green Belt Purposes:
- to check the unrestricted sprawl of large built-up areas
- to prevent neighbouring towns merging into one another
- to assist in safeguarding the countryside from encroachment
- to preserve the setting and special character of historic towns
- to assist in urban regeneration, by encouraging the recycling of derelict and other urban land.