NPPF and National Development Management Policy Consultation - Five Minute Summary
The consultation published on 22 December 2022, seeks views on the Government’s proposed approach to updating the
- National Planning Policy Framework (tracked change version >>>>) and
- preparing National Development Management Policies
Deadline for responses 2 March 2023
Schematic of the proposed system
Key points
Policy objectives
- Building beautiful and refusing ugliness
- Securing the infrastructure needed to support development. New Infrastructure Delivery Strategies
- More democratic engagement with communities on local plans
- Better environmental outcomes
- Empowering communities to shape their neighbourhood
- deliver more homes in the right places, supported by sustainable and integrated infrastructure for our communities and our economy
Removing the buffers in the 5 year housing land supply calculation
Giving Neighbourhood Plans more weight as a consideration when determining speculative development
Housing
“some major urban centres are not meeting, or proposing to meet, their housing need in full, with the prospect of it being ‘exported’ to surrounding areas,”
“standard method” to continue to be used for assessing housing need (as a guide rather than a rule), but an alternative method where justified by exceptions (eg high proportion of elderly people or students)
Building at densities that are significantly out of character with the area to be considered an adverse impact
No requirement to review or alter Green Belt Boundaries
Planning authorities may take over-delivery into account
Urban uplift / sustainable location for housing - 35 percent uplift in housing target for the 20 largest towns and cities to be maintained with those towns and cities encouraged to meet the target themselves and not export the need to other areas
Duty to cooperate to be removed
More housing for social rent, more sites for small builders, more support for development by community-led housing groups
Incentivising build-out : development commencement notices to be introduced, plus more powers for authorities to issue Completion Notices – that if development is not completed within a set period the planning permission will lapse, with the authority able then to consider performance against delivery in subsequent applications by developers when entertaining their applications.
Asking for Beauty
“Well-designed” -changes to “Well designed and beautiful”
Consultation on a regime where permitted development rights are moderated by design codes
Embracing gentle density via building upward
Encouragement given to upward extension of buildings via mansard roofs
Here the “Gentle density” of the Building Better Building Beautiful report which talked of building heights of 3 – 7 stories or so in new development, has been changed into “gentle increases in density” in existing development which is obviously a different thing.
Environment
“promoting development locations, and designs and layouts, that contribute to healthier lifestyles, energy and resource efficiency consumption, for example by reducing the need to travel, increasing public transport connectivity and accessibility and promoting active travel i.e. walking, wheeling and cycling”
Food production value of land as a consideration in planning decisions from Spring 2023
Other items covered include Carbon Assessment of the NPPF, standards for SUDS, onshore windpower, and arrangements for replacing existing wind turbines with more powerful installations.
National Development Management Policies
National Development Management Policies to be published as a separate document, and have statutory weight. The starting point for creating Policies would be the “existing parts of the National Planning Policy Framework which apply to decision-making”
There will be scope for local planning authorities to produce their own local plan policies on distinctly local issues – eg student housing, coastal management, subsidence
The National Planning Policy Framework would be re-focused on principles for plan-making (i.e. the general approach to allocating land for development in plans and protecting areas of value) and its status would be as a material consideration.
