Last week, the Rural Services Network (RSN) brought together 52 rural housing and planning experts to help shape our formal response to the Government’s consultation on proposed reforms to the National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF). With the consultation deadline fast approaching at the end of September, this session provided an essential opportunity to gather insights and perspectives on the impact of the NPPF from a rural lens.

The meeting, attended by a wide range of stakeholders - including Strategic Housing Leads, Planning Officers, and Councillors - focused on several pressing issues. Among them were the housing targets set for local authorities, the specific challenges faced by rural communities in delivering affordable homes, and potential policy measures that could support rural housing needs.

Throughout the session, delegates highlighted concerns around the capacity of rural areas to meet ambitious housing targets, the viability of rural development, and the need for stronger policy support for truly affordable housing.

We have compiled the feedback from the session in order to finalise RSN’s response to the NPPF consultation. We are continuing to gather further input from the session’s attendees and will ensure our submission reflects the collective views of our rural members. Once finalised, our response will be shared with all RSN members to ensure transparency and ongoing engagement.

As always, RSN remains committed to representing the interests of rural communities in national policy discussions and will continue to advocate for planning frameworks that recognise the unique challenges and opportunities in rural areas.