Nineteen local plans have been delayed or withdrawn since planning reforms were announced in December 2022.
The Housing Secretary, Michael Gove, put forward his new approach to the National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF) following pressure from MPs. The new approach gave councils the freedom to make planning decisions based on local need, meaning fewer houses would have to be built in areas with space constraints.
NPPF changes are under consultation until 2nd March and are expected to be adopted later in the spring. In the meantime, several local authorities have chosen to delay decisions until the changes are published.
West Suffolk Council is among those local authorities that have delayed decisions, saying that any changes to the NPPF would: “risk delays and increased costs further down the line with the council effectively having to add in the NPPF changes and then reconsult.”
Housing development is the main focus of the changes, among which is the need to demonstrate a five year supply of housing land. Under the changes, a local development plan containing strategic policies that establish housing requirement for the five years following the plan’s adoption, do not need to demonstrate a five year supply.
Neighbourhood plans will be protected for five years (up from the current three) where it contains policies and allocations to meet identified housing requirements.
Mr Gove still expects new housing developments to provide ‘beautiful’ environments, although the meaning of this term is somewhat different between one person and another.
The changes give local authorities the power to restrict growth where they feel it appropriate and indeed, immediately following the decision, large developers warned that local plan making would suffer a “complete collapse”. This, perhaps is particularly in reference to the wording:
“Green belt boundaries are not required to be reviewed and altered if this would be the only means of meeting the objectively assessed need for housing over the plan period.”