In today’s Parliamentary sessions, the Government presented it’s commitment to revising the planning system, supporting an ambitious plan for 1.5m new homes. This is put forward to tackle an ‘acute housing crisis, which currently locks a generation out of home ownership’.
One of the key mechanisms that the Government is using is a revision to the National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF). The updated NPPF is available here: National Planning Policy Framework
Some of the key updates from the revised NPPF include:
- Reversing changes from 2023 that gave flexibility to housing targets
- With use of the new Standard Method, a rise in the new housing requirement from 300k to 370k per annum
- Updated housing needs distribution (from that referred to earlier this year), with a greater focus on affordable housing
- A new approach to uplift the requirement for providing affordable housing
- Provision of a Brownfield land first approach, with ‘Brownfield Passports’ being developed and to which more information will follow
- Instilling that the ‘default position’ for proposals involving regenerative power should be yes
- Introduction and clearer description of ‘Grey Belt’, unlocking appropriate opportunities within the Green Belt in some instances.
In addition:
- Transitional Arrangements for Plan-making have been altered since the Summer 2024 consultation.
- From 2026, Housing Land Supply demands are increased for those Local Planning Authorities who rely on an ‘old’ Local Plan.
To support Local Planning Authorities and unlock a ‘pro-active approach’, £100 million pounds has been set aside to better fund the Planning System, and to unlock the capacity of the system.
If you would like to discuss the latest changes of the NPPF and what this means for your site, please do reach out to Edgars for relevant advice.
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