National Planning Policy Framework consultation

On 30 July, the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG) launched a consultation on reforms to the National Policy Planning Framework (NPPF). The reforms would reverse previous controversial changes to the NPPF and strengthen other areas to deliver the homes this country needs.

These reforms are part of wider changes the government is making to achieve its target of building 1.5 million new homes during this Parliament.

What does the consultation propose?

The main areas of consultation affecting social housing providers are:

Reversing recent changes to the NPPF

Mandatory housing targets will be reinstated.
The Infrastructure Levy will no longer be introduced.
The priority for First Homes will be removed.

Applying ‘golden rules’ to any Green Belt development

Grey belt land will be identified within the Green Belt and brought forward into the planning system.
Any land released in the Green Belt will be subject to the ‘golden rules’. These rules ensure that any development on Green Belt land benefits the public and include a target of at least 50% affordable homes.

A new method to calculate need

The standard method for assessing housing need will be mandatory and local authorities will be required to plan for the resulting housing need figure. Planning for a lower figure would only be permitted if they could demonstrate hard constraints and that they had exhausted all other options.
Implementing a new standard method for calculating housing need.

Improving the presumption in favour of sustainable development

Clarifying the circumstances in which the presumption in favour of sustainable development applies.
Introducing new safeguards to make clear that the application of the presumption cannot justify poor quality development.

Next steps

The consultation will close on 24 September, please get in touch with any feedback by 11 September. A full briefing on the proposed changes can be found below.

We will host two roundtables to get your feedback directly, these will be on 28 August and 5 September. Please get in touch if you would like to attend a roundtable, places will be limited to one attendee per organisation.

If you have any further questions about the consultation, please do send us an email. The full document can be found on the government website.

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Who to speak to

Marie Chadwick, Policy Leader

0117 952 9913

marie.chadwick@housing.org.uk