The government has published its keenly anticipated revision
of the National Planning Policy Framework with the new rules focused on
“building attractive and better-designed homes in areas where they are needed”,
it said.
The Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government’s
revised NPPF, applying to England, will see the implementation of 85 of its
proposals set out in 2017’s Housing White Paper and the Budget.
It confirms the introduction of the new standard method of
assessing housing need, by which councils can calculate the housing need of
their local community, including different forms of housing, MHCLG said.
From November, a Housing Delivery Test will focus on
increasing the numbers of homes delivered in a council’s area, rather than how
many homes are planned.
MHCLG is also issuing guidance so that “developers will know
what is expected of them up front, even before they submit a planning
application and councils [will] have greater power to hold them to these
commitments”.
The new NPPF focuses on promoting high quality design of new
homes and places, by empowering councils to refuse permission for development
“that does not prioritise design quality and does not complement its
surroundings,” MHCLG said. With an emphasis on offering communities a greater
involvement, the guidelines encourage councils to use new visual tools to
influence better design and quality, allowing residents to see proposed schemes
before they are built.
But, whilst the document gives clear direction on new build
quality, it will be within councils’ power to apply these policies “in the most
appropriate way in their area”.
However, Matt Thomson, Head of
Planning at the Campaign to Protect Rural England, said: "Rather than
delivering ‘what communities want’ as it claims to promise, the new planning
rulebook and its new ‘housing delivery test’ will result in almost all local
plans becoming out of date within two years. It is a speculative developers’
charter and will lead to the death of the plan-led system.
"Without a local plan, councils and communities
have little control over the location and type of developments that take place.
This results in the wrong developments in the wrong places - local communities’
needs are ignored and valued countryside destroyed for no good reason."
The housing delivery test penalises councils when
house builders fail to deliver homes in their areas by removing local control
over planning decisions. It will be phased in over a two-year period, based on
the assumption that councils will be given the tools and resources to ensure
that builders do deliver by November this year. There is currently no
indication of what those tools and resources will be or whether they will work
as the government believes. Without any evidence that councils will be
able to encourage house builders to deliver on target, the new NPPF will
encourage speculative development and prevent local people from shaping the
development they want and need.
The new publication includes policies to promote the use of small and
medium sized sites, instructing local authorities - among other measures -
to identify land to accommodate at least 10% of their housing requirement
on sites no larger than one hectare.
The revisions also include stronger environmental safeguards,
MHCLG said, with more protection for habitats and a greater emphasis on air
quality regarding development proposals. And robust protection of the green
belt continues, with the new NPPF detailing the "considerable evidence
that would be needed to alter any boundary”.
The revised NPPF, first published in 2012, follows a
consultation on the framework carried out earlier this year.
Housing secretary James Brokenshire 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.”
Andrew Whitaker, HBF's planning director, said: "The
revised NPPF seems to be broadly sensible, workable and pragmatic. The
proposals with regards to the delivery test and small builders are positive and
the section on land value capture seems to be sufficiently caveated to ensure
the policy cannot threaten housing supply. We look forward to working with
local authorities to deliver the homes communities need."
RIBA President Ben Derbyshire welcomed the publicationand said that time and the fulfilment of these proposals will be the real test for the NPPF.
"But we are pleased to see commitments to the Climate Change Act, to Garden City principles and that our call for increased transparency in viability tests has been formally incorporated," he continued. "We will now be urging Government to closely monitor confidentiality exemptions to ensure this is not abused.
“The Government have also highlighted the importance of quality design to address any
concerns about the potential impact of higher density development and the importance of well-designed housing generally. The RIBA welcomes this awareness and urges further action on how to design high density homes that are desirable. This includes urging the Government to give planners the resources, tools and power to raise the bar of quality design in the system.
“It is vital that we now ensure these proposals make a real impact on the quality of the built environment. The new NPPF must be accompanied by appropriate guidance for local planning departments on proactive placemaking that delivers sustainable wellbeing as well as aesthetic quality. We will continue to work with the enhanced team now at the Ministry for Housing, Communities and local Government to help get this right."
