A new version of the National Planning Policy Framework has been published as a follow on from the ‘Building Better, Building Beautiful Consultation’ earlier this year. The main changes to the revised version include: an emphasis on design and quality; improvements to environmental and social aspects, such as biodiversity to be ‘integrated’ rather than ‘encouraged’; and requirements to create ‘beautiful and safe places.’
Some small changes were made to the document, such as rewording and the removal of a few words to shift the paragraphs around, however, there are 11 key changes that will be material consideration in planning applications.
The first big change, briefly mentioned above, is the changes made to the definitions of environmental and social objectives. This emphasises the need to protect and enhance the environment and the need to create places that will be a lot safer and more attractive for people to enjoy. The term ‘beautiful’ has also been integrated which should be seen as a high level of ambition, rather than policy. The Government wants to encourage Local Authorities, developers and community members to work together to decide how to build ‘beautifully’.
The UN’s climate change goals up until 2030 have now been added to the ‘achieving sustainable development’ section - the main aim of the planning system.
Paragraph 11a includes an important change regarding the presumption in favour of sustainable development. This has been retained, however, it has been made clear this should be promoted at the plan-making stage with a more environmental focus to mitigate climate change and effectively re-use urban land.
An increased timescale of 30 years has been amended from the previous 15 for development plan policies for large new settlements. Paragraph 22 states that, where there are areas of larger development, such as new settlements or significant extensions to towns or villages for part of strategy area, a 30-year vision needs to be developed and policies within this time scale.
Paragraph 53 is new, containing guidance on the Article 4 Direction and how it has been updated to create new homes from non-residential buildings. This is to be limited to areas where ‘unacceptable impacts will occur’ and restricted to ‘the smallest possible geographical area’.
The addition of a new paragraph and changes of words has resulted in the shift of paragraph 79 (isolated homes in the countryside) to now becoming paragraph 80. Additionally, these rules have been tightened by the word ‘innovative’ being removed from the previous revision.
Paragraph 96 is another new paragraph which requires Local Planning Authorities to work proactively and positively to ensure faster delivery of other public service infrastructure such as further education colleges, hospitals and criminal justice accommodation. Additionally, key planning issues should be resolved before applications are submitted.
110c introduces a paragraph explaining that the design of streets, parking areas and other transport elements should reflect the National Design Guide and the National Model Design Code. Paragraph 129 ties in with this emphasis on design as it states: ‘design guides and codes can be prepared at an area-wide, neighbourhood or site-specific scale, and to carry out weight in decision making should be produced either as part of a plan or as supplementary planning documents.’ This means Local Authorities now have the responsibility of creating design codes and guides for their local areas, giving an increased amount of pressure and workload for policy makers. As these should be used above national documents, this may cause delays within Councils, as they will want to create design guides to ensure settlements within their authority area retain a sense of identity and are consistent with existing architectural styles.
Emphasising the importance of environmental contributions such as trees and their impact on the design and character of an area, paragraph 131 was introduced to ensure new streets are lined with trees, or trees are incorporated elsewhere, such as into parks or community orchards. Existing trees should be retained wherever possible and Local Planning Authorities should work with trees and highways officers to ensure trees are planted in the right places.
‘Planning and flooding’ has been altered so that plans manage residual risk by using opportunities provided by new developments and improvements to green and other infrastructure to reduce the causes and impacts of flooding. Additionally, natural techniques for flood management should be used as much as possible.
Increased protection has been given to statues, monuments and plaques with the guidance on removal being changed. The new paragraph 198 states that Local Planning Authorities should have regard to the importance of their retention, and where appropriate, explain their historic context rather than removing them in the first instance.
This revised NPPF reflects the reforms made to the planning system in the Planning White Paper released last year and the Planning Bill and ‘Building Better, Building Beautiful Consultation’ announced earlier this year. This version clarifies the uncertainty for Local Planning Authorities and Developers that may have arisen from these documents, however, could bring potential conflict for some.
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