Introduction
In this blog post, we discuss the new National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF) and the Government’s proposed reforms to Planning Committees
New NPPF
On 12 December 2024 the Government published an new updated version of the NPPF which is effective immediately
The new NPPF incorporates changes previous consulted on by the Government back in July 2024 and makes the following key changes to national planning policy:
- Housing targets are now mandatory
- Implements a new standard method formula to ensure local plans are in line with the Government’s manifesto commitment of 1.5 million new homes in this Parliament
- Defines grey belt land within the Green Belt, to be brought forward for homes and other important development through both plan and decision-making
- Defines new ‘golden rules’ for land released in the Green Belt to ensure release delivers in the public interest, as well as the policy considerations of affordable housing, design quality, and sustainable locations that are part of the presumption in favour of sustainable development
- Makes wider changes to ensure that local planning authorities are able to prioritise the types of affordable homes their communities need, and that the planning system supports a more diverse housebuilding sector
- Supports economic growth in key sectors, including laboratories, gigafactories, data centres, digital economies, and freight and logistics
- Supports clean energy and the environment, including through support for onshore wind and renewables
The full text of the new NPPF can be found at the following link:
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/national-planning-policy-framework–2
Planning Committee Reforms
On 9 December 2024 the Government published a working paper on proposed reforms to the existing process in the planning system where local planning authority Planning Committees consider and determine planning applications for development
The paper invites views on the following three proposed reforms:
- Whether to introduce a national scheme of delegation that could bring clarity and consistency about which applications get decided by officers and which by Planning Committees
- Having dedicated committees for strategic development to allow a dedicated and small group of councillors to focus on the most significant projects
- Requiring that councillors undertake appropriate training before they can form part of a Planning Committee
The full paper can be found at the following link:
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/planning-reform-working-paper-planning-committees/planning-reform-working-paper-planning-committees
Our Comments
Yet another new version of the NPPF has been published although this was expected given the new Labour Government and its proposed changes to the NPPF consulted on back in July of this year. These changes are primarily aimed at increasing house building to achieve the Government’s new 1.5 million homes target, a target which is welcome but which we share the scepticism of media commentators on whether this can actually be achieved in practice
Reforming Planning Committees can only be a good thing in our view. So many councillors on Planning Committees currently know very little about the planning system and the proposed introduction of mandatory training would be helpful in our view to remedying this situation. We also welcome the proposed national scheme of delegation as this would introduce some consistency in the planning system whereas currently each local planning authority has its own different requirements for the determination of planning applications through either delegation to officers or referral to a Planning Committee which can lead to uncertainty and often become political
Note: all comments and views expressed in this blog are merely opinions and provided for information purposes only and do not constitute legal advice which can be relied upon. Should you require legal advice on a matter then please contact us
