As promised, government is looking to achieve economic growth and delivery of 1.5 million homes at speed.  A consultation “Proposed changes to the National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF) and other changes to the planning system”, draft changes to the NPPF and a written Ministerial Statement “Building the homes we need” were all published on 30 July 2024.

Government intends to make changes to the NPPF “immediately… following this consultation”.  The consultation closes at 11.45pm on 24 September 2024.  There will be a period for consultation responses to be reviewed and any changes to the draft made, but nevertheless, the intention is clear, government wants change at pace.  The proposed NPPF changes are extensive.  We focus here on changes affecting housing delivery. 

The consultation document explains that the December 2023 changes to the NPPF were “disruptive to the sector and detrimental to the housing supply”.  Consequently, many of those 2023 changes are removed in the draft NPPF. 

More rigorous housing requirements are proposed: a new standard method for assessing need, to be mandatory, and the resulting figure is to be planned for (with limited exceptions).   The presumption in favour of sustainable development will be tweaked to bolster housing delivery.   A greater emphasis is placed on providing the right types of affordable housing with a minimum proportion of social rent homes.

The changes to calculating housing need remove the previous uplift that applied in some cities and towns and results in a housing need of 370,000 rather than the 300,000 previously targeted.

Changes are proposed to Green Belt provisions that require boundaries to be reviewed if identified need cannot be met.  If Green Belt is released there are various requirements for development to meet, including 50% affordable housing and a proportion of social rent.  Development in Green Belt will not be considered inappropriate where it would utilise grey belt subject to other tests.

The Ministerial Statement highlights the importance of up-to-date local plans being in place for every area.  The draft NPPF includes transitional arrangements for plan making.  One month after publication the new NPPF policies will apply to emerging local plans unless they are well advanced.  Authorities may expedite plans already underway to avoid being caught by the coming NPPF provisions, although this will only be a temporary reprieve. 

Government has also launched a practical solution to housing delivery, the New Homes Accelerator programme (NHA).  The aim is to speed up large scale housing delivery on stalled sites.  There are thought to be around 200 sites with planning permission where work on site has been delayed, or could progress more quickly, with the potential for 300,000 homes.  The NHA taskforce is a collaboration between government, Homes England, the GLA, local authorities, developers and other key stakeholders.  

Applications to the NHA taskforce must be made by 31 October 2024.  Sites for over 1,500 homes are preferred and priority will be given to sites that are viable without substantial additional government funding or infrastructure investment.