Just in time for Christmas: the Government Response to Proposed Reforms to the National Planning Policy Framework and the revised NPPF, Sarah Sutherland, Matthew Tucker

The UK government published its response to the consultation on proposed reforms to the National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF) and other changes to the planning system on 12 December 2024. The consultation, which ran from 30 July 2024 to 24 September 2024, received nearly 11,000 responses, reflecting significant public and stakeholder interest. The revised NPPF was published on the same day. This revised version replaces the previous versions published in March 2012 and revised/updated in July 2018, February 2012, July 2021, September 2023 and December 2023.

Annex 1 sets out what the implementation of the NPPF means for local authorities in terms of how planning decisions and local plans should be managed. The revised NPPF has immediate effect for decision making and its policies are therefore now material considerations in determining planning applications and appeals. The new policies for plan-making on the other hand will generally apply from 12 March 2025, subject to specific circumstances and exceptions designed to maintain continuity and fairness as local authorities update their plans. Some scenarios will also mean an emerging plan may instead be examined under the December 2023 version of the NPPF. Such scenarios include:

Plans that have reached Regulation 19 (pre-submission) stage on or before 12 March 2025 and propose housing requirements at least 80% of local housing need;
Plans submitted for examination (Regulation 22) on or before 12 March 2025;
Plans that are continuing the development strategy of a recently adopted local plan (post-12 March 2020);
Plans for areas subject to an operative Spatial Development Strategy (SDS) meeting certain milestones before 12 March 2025;
Minerals and/or waste plans that have reached Regulation 19 or have been submitted for examination before 12 March 2025.

The rest of this blog sets out the key takeaways from the consultation and revised NPPF in relation to sectors, land designations, decision making, plan making and environmental matters.

Sectors

Housing

In summary, the Government reaffirms its commitment to delivering 1.5 million new homes, with emphasis placed on a plan-led approach to increase the number of planning consents, while maintaining a high standard of quality and genuine affordability (with the reference to beautiful having been deleted).

The revised NPPF in Chapter 5 implements a new standard method formula, makes housing targets mandatory and reverses other changes made by the Conservatives regarding housing supply. The requirement in paragraph 78 is for local planning authorities to demonstrate a five-year supply of deliverable housing sites plus an additional 5% buffer. Where there has been significant under-delivery of housing, the buffer is 20%. The response recognises that there are specific circumstances in which the standard method would not be justified, so it will be adjusting the affordability multiplier consulted on, to make it more responsive to affordability challenges. The Government also acknowledge that local constraints on land and delivery could justify a lower housing requirement figure. A revised planning practice guide has been published to reflect these changes, which will be kept under constant review.

The updated Housing and Economic Needs Assessment guidance sets out the standard method for assessing local housing need. A formula is used that incorporates a baseline of local housing stock which is then adjusted upwards to reflect local affordability pressures to identify the minimum number of homes expected to be planned for. The standard method calculates a minimum annual housing need by reference to a two step formula with a worked example given. The updated standard method generally results in significant increases to housing targets across the board.

Digital Economy Infrastructure

Chapter 6 for Building a strong, competitive economy places significant weight on facilitating development which would “meet the needs of a modern economy”. In particular, paragraph 86 introduces new criteria for planning policies which identifies that particular regard should be paid to facilitating development to meet the needs of a modern economy, including by identifying suitable locations for uses such as laboratories, gigafactories, data centres, digital infrastructure, freight and logistics. In the Government’s response to consultation, it agreed to pursue the proposals to prescribe data centres, laboratories, and gigafactories as development which could be directed into the NSIP scheme but there is no firm decision on whether there will be limitations in terms of scale for developments that may be directed or what those scale limitations will be based on. Whether such developments are promoted under the TCPA or the NSIP regime, environmental impacts were highlighted as an important consideration.

The locational requirements of these developments are then expanded upon in paragraph 87 where planning policies and decisions should recognise and address these requirements, including by making provision for new, expanded or upgraded facilities and infrastructure that are needed to support the growth of clusters or networks of knowledge and data-driven, creative or high technology industries (including data centres and grid connections). While the consideration of locational needs of specific sectors is not new, the specific references to this industry infrastructure highlight an emphasis on local authorities facilitating these developments.

This has been the general direction of travel seen from the Government in recent decisions, and explicit policy support is expected to make it significantly easier to apply for planning permission for development in the digital economy space going forwards.

Renewable and Low Carbon Energy Generation

The NPPF does not carry through the provision in consultation which requires all local authorities to identify sites for renewable and low carbon energy development during plan-making, instead making this a discretionary choice.

The government has signposted that legislation is expected to be introduced in the spring of 2025 which would reintroduce onshore wind to the NSIP regime with a 100MW threshold and uplift the threshold for solar generation projects to 100MW (rather than 150MW). This will include a transitional window until the end of 2025, when the changes will formally come into effect, although this would not preclude requests being made by developers for projects to be potentially directed into the NSIP regime under s.35 of the Planning Act 2008.

In the NPPF, paragraph 161 provides that the planning system should support the transition to net zero by 2050, including by supporting renewable and low carbon energy and associated infrastructure. The need to mitigate and adapt to climate change should also be considered in preparing and assessing planning applications under paragraph 163 of the NPPF, taking into account the full range of potential climate change impacts.

Paragraph 168 provides that when determining planning applications for all forms of renewable and low carbon energy developments and their associated infrastructure local authorities should:

not require applicants to demonstrate the overall need for renewable or low carbon energy, and give significant weight to the benefits associated with renewable and low carbon energy generation and the proposal’s contribution to a net zero future;
recognise that small-scale and community-led projects provide a valuable contribution to cutting greenhouse gas emissions; and
in the case of applications for the re-powering and life-extension of existing renewable sites, give significant weight to the benefits of utilising an established site.

The consideration in the final bullet point in particular will be an important consideration for proposals to re-power outdated onshore wind farms or extend the lifetime of productive solar farms nearing the expiry of their permission. This may see a new sub-sector of generation manufacturing and installation come into play to upgrade components on existing generating stations, particularly with the uplift of generating capacity to 100MW before being captured by the NSIP regime.

Brownfield, Grey Belt, and Green Belt Land

By focusing on the efficient use of land that has already been developed, the government seeks to balance the need for new homes with the preservation of natural landscapes and the character of rural areas. This approach supports sustainable development while safeguarding the environment and maintaining the quality of life for communities. The government aims to make better use of brownfield and grey belt land for development, while continuing to protect green belt areas. Policies will be adjusted to encourage the redevelopment of previously used land, reducing pressure on undeveloped green spaces.

Chapter 11 now requires planning policies and decisions to give substantial weight to the value of using suitable brownfield land within settlements for homes and other identified needs, proposals for which should be approved unless substantial harm would be caused.

The majority of green belt policies remain the same but key changes have been made in Chapter 13. A local planning authority is required to review its Green Belt boundaries where it cannot meet its identified need for homes, commercial or other development through other means and propose alterations to meet the needs in full, unless it would fundamentally undermine the purposes of the remaining green belt, across the area of the plan. Paragraph 148 sets out the test, “plans should give priority to previously developed land, then consider grey belt which is not previously developed, and then other Green Belt locations. However, when drawing up or reviewing Green Belt boundaries, the need to promote sustainable patterns of development should determine whether a site’s location is appropriate with particular reference to paragraphs 110 and 115 of this Framework. Strategic policy-making authorities should consider the consequences for sustainable development of channelling development towards urban areas inside the Green Belt boundary, towards towns and villages inset within the Green Belt or towards locations beyond the outer Green Belt boundary.”

Paragraph 155 sets out that the development of homes, commercial and other development in the green belt will be no longer be classed as inappropriate where it utilises grey belt land, does not fundamentally undermine green belt purposes, is in a sustainable location, there is a demonstrable unmet need for the type of development proposed and, where applicable, the development satisfies the “golden rules”. The "golden rules" relate to major development involving the provision of housing and require the provision of affordable housing which reflects either development plan policies produced in accordance with the new NPPF or calculated in accordance with paragraph 157(2), improvements to infrastructure and new public green spaces or improvements to existing public green spaces. A development which complies with the golden rules will be given significant weight in favour of the grant of permission under paragraph 158. The Grey Belt is defined in Annex 2.

Development management

Achieving sustainable development and transport

In Chapter 2, changes have been made to the test for disapplying the tilted balance. Policy 11(d)(i) has been revised with the previous test for “clear reason for refusal” being strengthened to be a “strong reason for refusal” and policy 11(d)(ii) includes new text which requires decision-makers to pay “particular regard” to a closed list of “key policies for directing development to sustainable locations, making effective use of land, securing well-designed places and providing affordable homes, individually or in combination”.

In Chapter 9, decision-makers are now required to take a “vision-led” approach to transport planning.

Planning fees

Adjustments are proposed to planning fees to ensure that local planning authorities have the necessary resources to process applications promptly and effectively. This includes a review of the fee structure to better reflect the costs associated with handling complex applications.

Plan making

Co-operation

In Chapter 4, there is an emphasis on the duty to cooperate between local authorities in plan making. Where there are strategic relationships between authorities, they should “make sure” that their plans “align as fully as possible” and that they take a “consistent approach” to the delivery of major infrastructure and dealing with unmet housing need from neighbouring areas. We expect the Government to bring forward further changes on this topic in 2025, with a view to moving towards a joined-up system of strategic planning in the future.

Local Plan Intervention

The Government has outlined criteria for intervening in local plans, to ensure that local authorities meet their housing delivery targets and maintain up-to-date plans. Planning authorities will be invited to put forward any exceptional circumstances that they think the Secretary of State should consider in relation to any plan-making intervention action.

The Deputy Prime Minister has asked that all local planning authorities produce an updated Local Development Scheme (LDS) within 12 weeks of the publication of the NPPF. The LDS should include a clear time frame for consultation and submission of the local plan and should be made publically available.

Environmental, climate change and community considerations

The response includes measures to protect the environment and ensure that new developments do not negatively impact local communities. This involves guidelines to prevent environmental degradation and promote green spaces within urban areas. The reference to AONBs has changed to National Landscapes.

In relation to climate, paragraph 162 states that plans should take account of the risk of drought from rising temperatures, and a new paragraph 163 notes the importance of climate mitigation as a consideration in the decision-making process.

Turning to flood risk, a new exception has been included in paragraph 175 and a sequential test will not be required where a site-specific flood risk assessment demonstrates that no built development within the site boundary, including access or escape routes, land raising or other potentially vulnerable elements, would be located on an area that would be at risk of flooding from any source, now and in the future (having regard to potential changes in flood risk).

Concluding thoughts

Overall, the reforms set out in the consultation response and revised NPPF are intended to create a more responsive and efficient planning system that supports sustainable growth across the country. We look forward to working with you on the implementation of these changes in practice in 2025. If you have any queries, please contact Jen Ashwell, director, or Matthew Tucker, senior associate, in our Planning & Compulsory Purchase team.