Government announces adoption of revised National Planning Policy Framework aimed at boosting housebuilding

The Government has published its revised National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF), confirming the re-introduction of mandatory housing targets and the introduction of so-called 'Grey Belt' land, alongside new 'golden rules' for building on the Green Belt.

In a statement announcing the new framework, the Deputy Prime Minister and Secretary of State for Housing, Angela Rayner, said the reforms would "sweep away last year's damaging changes and shake up a broken planning system which caves into the blockers and obstructs the builders".

The Ministry for Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG) launched a consultation on its proposals in the summer, setting out plans to reverse amendments made by Michael Gove in December 2023, including his decision to clarify that housing targets are an "advisory starting point".

The consultation proposed the introduction of 'grey belt' land, which it defined 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 Green Belt purposes.

It also detailed new 'golden rules' for developments on the Green Belt, which require that developments deliver 50% affordable homes, increase access to green spaces and put the necessary infrastructure in place.

In a press release on the new framework, MHCLG said it considered more than 10,000 consultation responses ahead of updating the NPPF.

It added that the revised document "contains a number of refinements to the proposals set out in the summer".   

One such refinement in the NPPF published today affects the golden rules on Green Belt development the provision of and affordable housing.

The previously proposed wording in the draft NPPF said:

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:

a. 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;

b. Necessary improvements to local or national infrastructure; and

c. 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.

However, a new paragraph (paragraph 67) in the now-adopted NPPF says:

As part of the ‘Golden Rules’ for Green Belt development set out in paragraphs 156-157 of this Framework, a specific affordable housing requirement (or requirements) should be set for major development involving the provision of housing, either on land which is proposed to be released from the Green Belt or which may be permitted on land within the Green Belt. This requirement should:

a. be set at a higher level than that which would otherwise apply to land which is not within or proposed to be released from the Green Belt; and

b. require at least 50% of the housing to be affordable, unless this would make the development of these sites unviable (when tested in accordance with national planning practice guidance on viability).

The golden rules regarding increasing access to green spaces and building the necessary infrastructure remain largely unchanged between the draft proposals and the now-adopted NPPF.

The revised NPPF meanwhile confirms the introduction of 'grey belt' land, which the document defines as "land in the Green Belt comprising previously developed land and/or any other land that, in either case, does not strongly contribute to any of purposes (a), (b), or (d) in paragraph 143".

Paragraph 143 sets out the five green belt purposes.

The new NPPF also deletes Gove's amendment in the December 2023 NPPF that said the outcome of the standard method for calculating housing need was "an advisory starting point".

Further deletions include the amendment of a line relating to Green Belt reviews in the December 2023 framework that said: "Once established, there is no requirement for Green Belt boundaries to be reviewed or changed when plans are being prepared or updated."

The new paragraph (paragraph 145) now says: "Once established, Green Belt boundaries should only be altered where exceptional circumstances are fully evidenced and justified through the preparation or updating of plans."

Paragraph 146 adds: "Exceptional circumstances in this context include, but are not limited to, instances where an authority cannot meet its identified need for homes, commercial or other development through other means."

The new NPPF also sets out which types of land should be given priority in the release of Green Belt land.

At paragraph 148 it says: "Where it is necessary to release Green Belt land for development, plans should give priority to previously developed land, then consider grey belt which is not previously developed, and then other Green Belt locations."

Commenting on the new NPPF, Prime Minister Keir Starmer said: "Reform is desperately needed if we are to build 1.5 million homes.

"Under the current planning framework just under one third of local authorities have adopted a local plan within the last five years and the number of homes granted planning permission had also been allowed to fall to its lowest level in a decade.

"That has to change. Following consultation, areas must commit to timetables for new plans within 12 weeks the updated NPPF or ministers will not hesitate to use their existing suite of intervention powers to ensure plans are put in place."

Deputy Prime Minister and Secretary of State for Housing Angela Rayner meanwhile said: "I will not hesitate to do what it takes to build 1.5 million new homes over five years and deliver the biggest boost in social and affordable housebuilding in a generation.

"We must all do our bit and we must all do more. We expect every local area to adopt a plan to meet their housing need. The question is where the homes and local services people expect are built, not whether they are built at all."

Responding to the announcements, Cllr Richard Wright, the District Councils Network’s planning spokesperson, suggested that increased planning consents does not necessarily equate to an increase in house-building.

Cllr Wright said: “Currently over a million homes with planning consent have yet to be built out. In my own council over half of the homes we’ve approved over the past eight years have yet to be built. Urgent Government action is required to address the issues of stalled sites and land banking by developers. 

“Councils need to be empowered to ensure we’re actually delivering 1.5 million new homes rather than merely 1.5 million planning consents which do little to ease the housing crisis.”

Cllr Richard Clewer, Housing and Planning Spokesperson for the County Councils Network (CCN), said: “CCN has called for a long-term plan for housing, and today’s updated National Planning Policy Framework is a big step in that direction. County and unitary councils recognise that there is a chronic housing affordability crisis across the country, and the vast majority of these local authorities do support the principle of nationally set targets. However, we are concerned that the housing targets announced today are even higher for some county and rural councils compared the initial numbers outlined in the summer.

“The re-introduction of five-year land supply, and increasing it to six years in some instances, could effectively invalidate Local Plans that have been agreed and gone through a publicly-accountable process. This could mean a developer free for all with more planning permissions by appeal on sites outside of Local Plans, leading to development in unsuitable locations regardless of local views. The government has said its changes will ensure Local Plans are delivered as agreed, but the changes announced today and the existence of the requirement to maintain a five-year housing supply is contrary to this.”

He added: ““Councils understand the need to update Local Plans based on the new NPPF, and to keep them up-to-date based on sites that come forward, but in some instances these can take time and local areas should not be penalised for trying to ensure that proposals are scrutinised and local views are heard and debated properly. Instead, CCN strongly believes that the requirement to maintain a five-year land supply should be removed where authorities have an up-to-date local plan in place that has been approved by a Planning Inspector.”

Ben Standing, Partner specialising in planning and environmental law at law firm Browne Jacobson, said: "In amending the NPPF, the Government hopes to set a more centralised planning policy for local decision-makers to follow.

"Broadly speaking, it has taken a bold, 'stick’-led approach in order to meet its ambitious housebuilding targets.

"However, what is less clear is how it will protect traditional planning principles designed to create great places where people want to live."

Standing added: "Through this lens, the Government must be careful not to ignore where local people fit into this complex placemaking jigsaw. While much of the wider narrative has focused on overhauling planning rules to tackle so-called 'Nimbyism', developers, local authorities and national Government must question whether they are doing enough to communicate the benefits of development."

Separate from the NPPF, the Government also announced today that it is exploring further action to support and expedite the development of brownfield land in urban areas through 'brownfield passports' with more details to be provided next year.   

Adam Carey