New Revised National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF) is Published

Just ahead of the summer recess on Thursday 24th July 2018, the long expected revised NPPF was published by the Government. This sets out the Government’s planning policies for England and how these are expected to be applied.

This is the first revision of the National Planning Policy Framework since it was first published in 2012. It implements around 85 reforms announced previously through the Housing White Paper in 2017. The publication follows a consultation earlier in 2018, which received 29,224 responses and over 25,000 campaign responses. Given this level of response, by comparison to the draft version, there is surprisingly limited change in the publication document.

The intention of the revised NPPF is to focus on:

– promoting high quality design of new homes and places

– stronger protection for the environment

– building the right number of homes in the right places

-greater responsibility and accountability for housing delivery from councils and developers

As part of the publication, Secretary of State for Communities, Rt Hon James Brokenshire MP has said:

“Fundamental to building the homes our country needs is ensuring that our planning system is fit for the future.

This revised planning framework sets out our vision of a planning system that delivers the homes we need. I am clear that quantity must never compromise the quality of what is built, and this is reflected in the new rules.

We have listened to the tens of thousands of people who told us their views, making this a shared strategy for development in England.”

Should you have any questions with regard to the revised NPPF, please don’t hesitate to contact a member of the Firstplan team on: 020 3096 7000.