Mandatory housing targets re-introduced, green belt protections reduced, and ‘grey belt’ included in revised National Planning Policy Framework
The Government has announced plans to re-introduce mandatory housing targets and change how the standard method is to be calculated as part of proposals to amend the National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF).
In a consultation launched today (30 July), the Government revealed proposed changes to the NPPF that would reverse amendments made by Michael Gove in December 2023, including his decision to make housing targets an "advisory starting point".
The consultation, which runs until 24 September 2024, seeks views on the proposals, which are part of the new Government's plan to deliver 1.5 million more homes.
Regarding housing targets, the revised NPPF amends paragraph 62 of the current framework to delete the following sentences: "The outcome of the standard method is an advisory starting point for establishing a housing requirement for the area.
"There may be exceptional circumstances, including relating to the particular demographic characteristics of an area which justify an alternative approach which to assessing housing need; in which case the alternative approach should also reflect current and future demographic trends and market signals."
In addition to restoring mandatory housing targets, the method used to calculate them will also be updated.
The Ministry said the new method would require councils to ensure homes are built in the right places and development is proportionate to the size of existing communities "while adding an extra level of ambition in the most unaffordable areas".
The revised NPPF also introduces changes to reviewing Green Belt boundaries, through amendments to paragraph 144 of the current framework.
The amendments include the inclusion of a section that reads: "Green Belt boundaries should only be altered where exceptional circumstances are fully evidenced and justified, through the preparation or updating of plans.
"Exceptional circumstances include, but are not limited to, instances where an authority cannot meet its identified need for housing, commercial or other development through other means.
"In these circumstances authorities should review Green Belt boundaries and propose alterations to meet these needs in full, unless the review provides clear evidence that such alterations would fundamentally undermine the function of the Green Belt across the area of the plan as a whole."
Councils must also identify and prioritise 'grey belt' land as part of the green belt review process under the changes.
The revised NPPF defines grey belt as: "Land in the green belt comprising Previously Developed Land and any other parcels and/or areas of Green Belt land that make a limited contribution to the five Green Belt, but excluding those areas or assets of particular importance listed in footnote 7 of this Framework (other than land designated as Green Belt)."
The Ministry said this could include land on the edge of existing settlements or roads, as well as old petrol stations and car parks.
Where local authorities do not have up-to-date plans in place or enable sufficient housing to come forward to meet local targets, homebuilders can bring forward proposals on grey belt land, the Ministry added.
The Ministry also announced that the Green Belt will be subject to so-called 'golden rules', which make clear that development should deliver 50% affordable homes, increase access to green spaces and put the necessary infrastructure in place, such as schools and GP surgeries.
This section of the revised NPPF reads:
Where major development takes place on land which has been released from the Green Belt through plan preparation or review, or on sites in the Green Belt permitted through development management, the following contributions should be made:
- In the case of schemes involving the provision of housing, at least 50% affordable housing [with an appropriate proportion being Social Rent], subject to viability;
- Necessary improvements to local or national infrastructure;
- The provision of new, or improvements to existing, green spaces that are accessible to the public. Where residential development is involved, the objective should be for new residents to be able to access good quality green spaces within a short walk of their home, whether through onsite provision or through access to offsite spaces.
The Ministry also announced that the changes will make it easier to build key infrastructure such as laboratories, gigafactories and data centres, as well as help deliver more large onshore wind projects and solar development.
The package also includes additional flexibilities for councils in relation to the Right to Buy.
Commenting on the consultation, the Secretary of State for Local Government, Angela Rayner, said: "Today marks a significant step to getting Britain building again.
"Our decisive reforms to the planning system correct the errors of the past and set us on our way to tackling the housing crisis, delivering 1.5 million homes for those who really need them.
"And something I am personally proud of, our new flexibilities for councils will boost the number of social and affordable homes, and give working families a better route to a secure home."
The consultation can be found here.
Responding to the Secretary of State's announcement, Cllr Claire Holland, Housing spokesperson for the Local Government Association said: “Homelessness and the lack of affordable housing is one of the most pressing issues facing councils. Urgent action is needed to ensure more housing is built to meet growing demand.
“Today the Government has laid out some positive first steps on affordable housing. Consultation on the Right to Buy scheme is positive news for councils who have seen their stock significantly diminish under the scheme and we look forward to working with government on its ongoing review. Local government stands ready to work with national government on their detailed delivery plans to ensure practical solutions to these long-standing problems are found."
Cllr Holland added: “While national government can provide useful guidance, it is local councils and communities who know their areas best, so changes to national planning policy should be suitably flexible to allow authorities to make judgement decisions on managing competing demands for uses in their local areas. We will look carefully at the changes proposed to planning policy and housing targets.
“In order to deliver more housing, councils need the proper levers to deliver proposals that genuinely support a faster build-out of schemes. This includes urgently introducing a ‘stalled sites’ council tax premium, as well as a streamlined compulsory purchase process to acquire stalled sites or sites where developers do not build out to agreed rates. Action is also needed to ensure viability assessments are fair.”
Cllr Richard Clewer, Housing and Planning Spokesperson for the County Councils Network, meanwhile said: “Today’s National Planning Policy Framework confirms that the government intends to bring back strategic planning, which is something the County Councils Network (CCN) has long called for. This should be implemented using the model put forward by the CCN, across whole county geographies, must be quickly implemented across the whole of England.
“It is vital that these planning reforms have an infrastructure first approach, with many county areas suffering from significant pressure on their local roads, health services and local amenities. Therefore, it is vital that strategic planning is implemented before councils are required to deliver on any proposed housing targets, because strategic planning will provide the most effective mechanism to outline what infrastructure is necessary to mitigate and enable development, and to propose the right areas for the right homes."
Cllr Clewer added: “The CCN will be consulting with its members on the new methodology for housing numbers, but we have always been clear that local authorities know their areas best and that housing should be fairly distributed across the entirety of the country. County areas have delivered 600,000 homes in the past five years – higher than the rest of the country combined. However, on face value, this new methodology assigns more to rural areas that currently do not have sufficient infrastructure and less to urban locations that have more readily available infrastructure.
“A 50% target for affordable housing for green belt land is correct, but the government must ensure that this has teeth and that developers will be compelled to deliver on it. For those councils who currently have an up-to-date local plan, this should be the ‘gold standard’ of where homes should be built in an area, rather than proposals put forward outside of those designated locations, irrespective of their new housing target."
Cllr Bridget Smith, Vice Chair of the District Councils’ Network (DCN), warned that housing targets might have a part to play but they were "unlikely to be a silver bullet by themselves".
She said: "We must build the types of homes that meet local needs – the right size for families, with the right adaptations for residents who are elderly or disabled, with enough provision for single people and be genuinely affordable to local people.
“These new homes mustn’t reflect what sells for the highest price – they need to reflect local circumstances and the needs of people on our housing waiting lists. They also need to be built to the highest standards of energy efficiency – the last thing we want to do is have to carry out expensive retrofit work within a few years."
Cllr Smith added: “We support the measures to do more to improve the affordability of homes and we warmly welcome the Government’s commitment to address protracted conversations over viability raised by developers by offering fair but not excessive compensation’.”
On planning reform, she said: “The planning process is just one part of the picture. As a country, we need to build homes, not just give planning permission. We can’t have planning permission for 1.5 million homes approved and then have these sites sit empty, stalled, and not built out by developers.
“However, we continue to call on Government to give councils new levers to ensure that developers build out the many homes that already have planning permission much more quickly."
Cllr Smith said the DCN strongly supported the proposals to allow local authorities to set their own fees "to reflect the actual costs and reduce the huge financial pressures on district councils".
Adam Carey
