The updated National Planning Policy Framework is the biggest shift in planning policy in a decade. Delivery is now mandatory, land supply is measured harder, and Grey Belt is open for business.
If you’re developing, investing or sitting on a planning committee, here’s what changed.
- Grey Belt is open for business. Green Belt land that doesn’t do the job it’s meant to do becomes Grey Belt. Where a council can’t show a five-year land supply, or is missing its delivery targets, Grey Belt development gets backed.
- The golden rules are strict. Build on released Green Belt and you owe up to 50% affordable housing, money for local infrastructure, and public green space people can actually use. “The land cost more than we expected” is not a viability argument any more. It never should have been.
- Housing targets are back, and they bite. The standard method returns: 0.8% of existing stock, adjusted for local affordability. Miss 75% on the Housing Delivery Test and unmet need is triggered automatically. No debate, no wriggle room.
- Density near transport is now a floor, not a target. Schemes near well-connected stations must hit 35 to 45 dwellings per hectare. You no longer need exceptional circumstances to shift a Green Belt boundary around a transit hub.
- Data centres, logistics, AI growth zones and clean energy now get real weight in planning decisions. Substantial weight, not polite consideration.
- Pre-application engagement has teeth now, under Policy DM1. Major applications need a statement showing early engagement with communities actually shaped the design. A box-ticking exercise won’t cut it any more.
I think the firms that get ahead of this will be the ones treating the politics and the delivery numbers as one conversation, not two. Get in touch with the team at Lowick Hedry if you want to talk through what this means for your schemes.
#Planning #NPPF #BuiltEnvironment #HousingDelivery #PublicAffairs #PropertyDevelopment #LowickHedry
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