Since the new government came into power last July, one thing has become clear: how serious it is about its commitment to deliver 1.5 million homes in this parliamentary session. This government places the planning reform at the top of its agenda to deliver this ambitious housing target.
On 12 December, the new National Planning Policy Framework (the ‘2024 NPPF’) became operative. This plan is a significant milestone in the planning reform journey and will substantially shape local plans and planning decisions, because it is a material consideration before the grant of each planning permission. Effective immediately for planning decisions and with slight delays for plan-making, the 2024 NPPF has reversed many of the previous NPPF (the ‘2023 NPPF’) amendments and has introduced new policies, the most important of which focused on significantly increasing the housing provision over the next few years.
The main headline new policies
Local authorities must now use an updated standard methodology to identify their local housing need, and housing targets are set at much higher levels nationally and locally. This move underscores the government's commitment to addressing the housing crisis by ensuring local authorities have clear targets to meet. This also means that more local authorities will now find it difficult to prove a 5-year housing land supply, which will have implications in both plan-making and decision-taking.
Furthermore, and for the first time in years, the 2024 NPPF includes provisions that require local authorities to revise the Green Belt when housing numbers fall short[1]. It also introduces the new concept of ‘Grey Belts’, under which previously developed land within the Green Belt, complying with certain conditions, will be released for the development of homes, commercial and other developments[2]. These groundbreaking changes acknowledge the need for flexibility in land use to meet housing demands, while balancing environmental and other considerations.
The release of Green Belt/Grey Belt Land under the 2024 NPPF is connected with delivering more affordable homes. A new set of rules – the so-called ‘Golden Rules’ – now apply, under which a 15% increase in affordable housing above existing affordable housing levels (capped at 50%) will be required where major housing developments are proposed on land released from the Green Belt.
While some amendments, particularly those related to renewable energy and data centres, have been toned down from the summer consultation NPPF paper, the significance of these projects is addressed in the 2024 NPPF, and local authorities should consider them at both plan-making and decision-taking stages.
More reforms
Several other reforms accompanied the release of the 2024 NPPF, such as amendments to the Planning Practice Guidance (PPG) on viability and housing supply and delivery, and two working papers proposing changes to the structure and mandates of planning committees and reforms on nutrient neutrality and the Habitats Regulations.
More changes are anticipated with the upcoming Planning and Infrastructure Bill and the Devolution Bill, the white paper of which was also published before Christmas 2024, which will have significant impact on the way every council is run and which aspires to reintroduce strategic planning.
Does the NPPF really represent a plan for change?
With the number of unbuilt houses with planning permission currently estimated at just over 1m, the complexity of the housing crisis is plain to see. With the 2024 NPPF, the government is sending a strong mandate, targeted mainly to local authorities, to deliver more homes based on objective targets. Some stakeholders will welcome these reforms more than others.
Under the 2024 NPPF the housing targets for more than 200 councils are expected to increase, with approximately 63 councils to have to facilitate at least twice the number of new homes compared to the 2023 NPPF. The practical implications for failing to meet housing targets are numerous, with the most important being the application of the “presumption in favour of sustainable development”, under which planning permissions should generally be granted, even if they are not in line with the authority’s development plan, unless there are significant adverse impacts that outweigh the benefits.
Notwithstanding the above and planning aside, many other factors can delay the housing delivery. Such factors include viability, land assembly, lack of appropriate finance, supply or labour-related problems, the economy as a whole or lack of demand for specific housing types.
Whether the government will ultimately be able to deliver on its ambitious plans remains to be seen. However, what is clear and laudable at this moment is its determination to intervene, create the policy and legislative framework for change and attempt to materially address the elements of the housing crisis caused by planning delays.
CHRISA TSOMPANI
Partner
[1] Paragraph 146, 2024 NPPF
[2] Paragraph 155, 2024 NPPF
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