The government announced on the 16th December a consultation on the National Planning Policy framework (NPPF) for England. Alongside this, it published a revised draft NPPF, which has undergone extensive re-structuring. There is a lot to unpack in this new version, but here are a few headlines relevant for rural landowners.
Green belt and Grey belt
The definition of “grey belt” has been streamlined, focusing on land within the Green Belt that contributes weakly to its core purposes. When such land is released for major development, new “golden rules” apply—major housing schemes must deliver enhanced affordable housing, community benefits and infrastructure provision.
Presumption in favour of suitably located development
The revised NPPF prioritises development that is “suitably located,” introducing policies S4 (within settlements) and S5 (outside settlements), which will embed more permanent, rule-based presumption in favour of suitably located development. This will assist in clarifying what rural developments are appropriate and reduce reliance on discretionary balancing exercises.
For land managers, this should result in greater consistency and certainty when securing planning permission for rural business ventures, tourism uses, and agricultural buildings.
Substantial weight to economic benefits
Under the new planning policy substantial weight will be given to the economic benefits of commercial development, including farm and agricultural proposals that support food production, animal welfare, and environmental improvements. Existing amended NPPF paragraphs focused on the rural economy have also been strengthened to better support agricultural development and diversification in rural areas.
Changes to BNG Requirements
Alongside the NPPF announcements, the government has also announced important changes to Biodiversity Net Gain (BNG) requirements for planning applications. It acknowledged that for smaller developments, BNG has been more challenging and expensive to deliver.
To ease this, the government is increasing the BNG exemption area threshold to 0.2 hectares for smaller sites. The government is also to consult on other additional targeted exemptions for brownfield sites.
Next Steps
The Weldon Beesley planning team will continue to monitor the progress of this consultation, and further updates will follow. If you would like to speak with one of the team regarding planning and development matters, please contact our office on 01462 557780
