A major overhaul of the UK’s planning (zoning) system was unveiled on 30 July.  This is aimed at tackling the UK’s chronic housing shortage, as well as the challenge of net zero.  The lack of affordable housing in the south-east of England, for example, means that average house prices there are ten times the average wage.  At the same time, public sector housebuilding has slowed to a trickle and rents have soared.  Similarly, the planning system has been identified as a major block on renewables and low-carbon developments in the UK.     

In response, the new UK Government has announced significant changes to the National Planning Policy Framework (“NPPF“) which guides decision-making on individual planning applications as well as the content of local planning policies (against which applications for individual sites are assessed).  The main aim is to kick-start an unprecedented programme of housebuilding with a huge proposed target of 371,000 per year against current delivery of about 200,000 units per year.  There will also be increased requirements on developers to provide affordable housing on new housing developments.  Commentary so far has rightly focused on these important housing-related changes in the draft NPPF, but the draft NPPF goes much further than housing.  Specific focus is given to renewables and low-carbon projects, digital technology, gigafactories, laboratories and logistics.

In this briefing, we summarise the main proposed changes in the draft NPPF and identify further likely upcoming reforms to be made to the planning system including through the new Planning and Infrastructure Bill. 

The draft NPPF is open for consultation until 24 September 2024.  A final version is expected to be in place by the end of the year, though this is a very tight timetable given the likely volume of responses to the consultation.

The main changes proposed in this draft NPPF are:

  • re-imposition of mandatory housing targets on local authorities, with a sharp increase in those targets.  There are increased requirements for affordable and social rented accommodation;
  • strengthened policy support for brownfield development;
  • requirement on local authorities to review their Green Belt designations in certain circumstances;
  • introduction of the concept of “grey belt” land where more relaxed planning polices will result in greater housing and other development;
  • additional policy support for renewables and low-carbon development, digital infrastructure, laboratories and logistics projects;
  • strengthened requirement on local councils to have in place local plans and where this is not done, mandatory targets will be imposed by Central Government;
  • changes to the “presumption in favour of sustainable development” aimed at bringing forward land for housing and key commercial development where local plan policies are out-of-date.

In a letter accompanying the draft NPPF, the Deputy Prime Minister has indicated that these changes are just the start of the Government’s approach to planning reform.  In particular, the Government intends to re-introduce strategic planning across England.  This will require legislation but will result in additional planning powers for the Mayors of Combined Authorities, as well as across regions where there are no Combined Authorities.  The precise nature of these new powers is unclear at this stage, but this would make a significant break with the previous policy which supported local decision-making.

In addition, the Government has announced the setting up of a New Towns Task Force, with a view to developing recommendations for the location of new towns within 1 year.  These will be settlements with at least 10,000 homes.

We now look at each of the key proposals in the draft NPPF in more depth.

A. Housing

        The draft NPPF makes changes to several key policy levers with a view to promoting a step change in housing development.

        First, it proposes a re-introduction of mandatory housing targets.  The draft NPPF is supported by a spreadsheet which sets out the likely targets for each region and sub-region based on a new methodology.  It is intended that this will result in the delivery of 1.5 million new homes within 5 years.

        The new methodology has resulted in significantly increased targets in most regions, although the overall London target has been reduced from about 100,000 to 80,000.

        In addition to the targets themselves, local authorities must maintain a 5-year housing land supply at all times and apply a 5% buffer.  Where delivery over a rolling 3-year period falls behind, then a 20% buffer will be added.

        In assessing housing need, not only should the volume of new housing be considered but also the size, type and tenure needed for different groups in the community.  This will now include specific provision for social rent housing (ie low-rent housing provided by local authorities and registered providers), in addition to other forms of affordable housing, housing for families with children and looked after children as well as older people.   These provisions are critical because there has been a huge reduction in available social-rented accommodation in the UK since the 1980s, when the “right to buy” such housing was introduced by the then Thatcher Government.

        The new Government has separately announced a review of the operation and impact of the “right to buy”.

        B. The principle of brownfield development

          The draft NPPF introduces a new requirement on decision-makers to “give substantial weight” to the value of using brownfield land within settlements for housing and other identified needs.  It adds that proposals on such land should be regarded as “acceptable in principle”, which introduces a high bar in the event that the local authority wished to refuse permission, which could potentially lead to successful challenges on appeal.

          C. Requirement to review the green belt

          The draft NPPF retains the current requirement that Green Belt boundaries should only be altered through the statutory process for updating local plans, and that this should only be done in “exceptional circumstances.”

          However, it now proposes that “exceptional circumstances” should “include” cases where authorities cannot meet their identified need for “housing, commercial or other development, through other means”.

          In these circumstances, Green Belt boundaries should be altered to ensure that these needs can be met in full, unless such changes would fundamentally undermine the function of the Green Belt across the area of the plan as a whole.

          Much focus has been given to the fact that this will likely result in peripheral Green Belt land being made available for housing development, but it is important to note that this extends to other developments where there is an “identified need”.

          In view of the fact that the proposed changes to the NPPF also require local authorities to identify sites associated with renewables, low-carbon technologies, digital infrastructure, laboratories and logistics, this amended Green Belt policy is likely to have a much broader impact than on just housing.

          D. New “grey belt” land

          As things stand, most development in the Green Belt is regarded as inappropriate and permission should only be granted where there are “very special circumstances”.  This is a very high standard.

          Para 152 of the draft NPPF proposes a significant watering down of these provisions.  Importantly, it will allow not just housing, but also commercial development of the type set out above in the Green Belt for the first time provided certain conditions are met. To be clear, grey belt land is land that falls within the Green Belt (i.e. developers do not have to wait for Green Belt boundaries to be amended to take advantage of these provisions).

          So what are the conditions?  first, the land must be “grey belt” in a “sustainable location”.  Grey belt land is defined as previously-developed land or land in the Green Belt that make(s) a limited contribution to the five Green Belt purposes (as defined in para 140 of draft NPPF) (unless the area in question has special protection – e.g. SSSIs).

          The 5 purposes referred to focus on the prevention of urban sprawl.

          There is some concern that, in the absence of further guidance on this test, this could result in inconsistent decision-making across England.

          Secondly, where the proposed development involves housing, grey belt development will be permissible if the 5-year housing land supply is not maintained or housing delivery falls below 75% of the target.  Where the proposed development is not housing, development in the grey belt would be permissible if “there is a demonstrable need” for it.

          In addition, development in the grey belt is only to be allowed if it complies with the “golden rules”.  For housing developments, this means the provision of at least 50% affordable homes (subject to viability) and for all development, these must provide relevant infrastructure improvements and public access to new or improved green spaces.

          E. Renewables, low-carbon, digital infrastructure, laboratories and logistics

          As suggested above, in addition to providing support for housing developments, the draft NPPF gives specific support to other types of development.  The level of support depends on the types of development concerned.

          Renewables and low-carbon development are given the highest level of support.  Para 164 states that local authorities should support applications for all forms of renewables and low‑carbon development and should give “significant weight” to any proposals contributing to renewable energy generation and a net zero future (even if that contribution is not significant).

          As regards other commercial development, local authorities should identify suitable locations (possibly, including in grey belt areas) for:

          • Laboratories;
          • Gigafactories;
          • Data centers;
          • Digital infrastructure; and
          • Freight and logistics.

          Furthermore, planning authorities should make provision for new, expanded or upgraded facilities and infrastructure needed to support data-driven, creative or high-tech industries (including data centers) as well as logistics and “other industries of local, regional or national importance”.

          F. Local plans

          There is to be a push to ensure that local authorities across England have in place up-to-date local plans and the failure to do so will have two consequences:  Central Government will intervene and the enhanced “presumption in favour of sustainable development” will apply (see below).

          G. Enhanced “presumption in favour of sustainable development”

          Currently, where local plan policies and “out-of-date”, then they are disapplied and the presumption in favour of granting permission for sustainable development applies.  This is called the “titled balance”.  So for instance, this would allow the development of housing outside previously allocated housing sites in local plans (assuming the development is sustainable and other things being equal).

          There has been considerable debate about which policies in a local plan need to be shown, to be out-of-date, for the presumption to apply.  The proposed changes are aimed at reducing that uncertainty by clarifying that this applies to policies “for the supply of land [being] those which set an overall requirement for and/or make allowances for the area and type of development covered”.

          This most obviously applies where insufficient housing sites are allocated to meet targets but it is not restricted to housing: it extends to the types of commercial development referred to at 4 above – because local authorities are now directed to make specific allocations for such uses.  This amounts to a major broadening of the so-called “tilted balance”. 

          H. Commentary

          The above summary only covers the major changes proposed by in the draft NPPF and it is expected that further guidance and changes will emerge over the next couple of months.  In addition, further changes to the planning system will be announced soon.  As regards to housing, these proposed changes amount to a significant boost for housing and in particular, affordable housing for people in the most acute housing need.  That said, the ambition of 1.5 million new homes over 5 years remains a very ambition target.

          For those with an interest in renewables and low-carbon developments the proposed changes introduce an informal presumption in favour of granting consent in suitable locations.  This is to be seen in the context of the changes announced a couple of weeks ago by the Deputy Prime Minister which lifted the de facto moratorium on consents for new onshore wind projects imposed by the previous Government.