Long-awaited Government proposals to change the planning system announced

The last few weeks have seen the publication of long-awaited Government proposals to change the planning system. The scale of change is generational and its implications for some rural areas may be profound.

Soon after the New Town’s Task Force report proposing twelve New Towns came more flesh on the bones of the new Local Plan making system. And then, the most important of all, the draft revised National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF) as a  consultation for responses by mid March. Oh, and the Planning & Infrastructure Act 2025 was given royal assent as well!

Although every part of rural England will be affected by these changes, some will be more exposed than others.

National Plan Making and Decision-Making Policies

The new NPPF is divided into plan making and decision-making policies. It reaffirms the scope and status of neighbourhood plans and introduces Spatial Development Strategies, Supplementary Plans and a new Local Plan making system. Importantly, the decision-making policies are intended to replace ‘development management’ type policies in Local and Neighbourhood Plans.

Presumption in Favour of Sustainable Development

One of most significant changes, the ‘presumption’ is extended beyond plans that are out of date and establishes key principles of where and when it will operate inside and outside settlement boundaries. This increases the importance of plans now defining those boundaries on Policy Maps in those parts of the country where this has not been done before. For neighbourhood plans, it crucially retains the current NPPF §14 provision in managing the presumption.

Railway Stations

Another key implication is for sites and settlements ‘within a reasonable walking distance’ of a ‘well-connected’ railway station, even in the Green Belt and National Landscapes. A new ‘presumption’ allows for development, at higher densities, in these locations subject to a small number of tests. Plans may set out how those tests should be applied and reflect them in site allocation choices.

Design and Density

These provisions have seen some changes though the substance of design policy remains the same. However, with the new ‘presumption’ increasing in scope, especially inside settlement boundaries, the value of plans containing design guidance and coding has increased considerably.

Medium Sites

This new category of housing development sites is proposed, i.e. 10 – 49 homes on land of less than 2.5 hectares. Plans are encouraged to allocate a proportion of these sites, as well as small and large sites, to bolster the SME builder sector. Government also intends to require fewer policy and regulatory burdens to be placed on these sites.

Overall Impressions

The proposals return to some of the thinking behind the radical changes proposed by the previous Government in 2020. The new presumption effectively subdivides a planning area into settlements, settlement centres (including railway stations) and land beyond settlements.

They should not lead to a ‘free for all’ but they raise the stakes on the ability of local planning authorities to adopt and maintain up to date development plans. For rural areas, the value of neighbourhood planning is therefore strengthened.  

Neil Homer MBA MRTPI

Managing Director, ONH Planning for Good