23.12.2022
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In December 2022, the Government provided an early Christmas present and published draft proposed amendments to the National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF), launching a public consultation exercise which will run until 2nd March 2023. This follows the recent Ministerial Statement and letter from the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities, Michael Gove, setting out intended amendments to the proposed Levelling Up and Regeneration Bill (LURB). As was widely reported at the time, amendments to the Bill have been pursued in response to backbench unease at the original draft, in turn leading to widespread concern across the development and housing sectors that the proposed reform would fail to effectively deliver housing at the levels needed to address the current housing crisis and future needs and worse still, reduce existing levels of delivery.
DHA will be reviewing the proposed NPPF amendments in detail and remain on hand to advise clients on potential implications, however key takeaways from an initial review are summarised below. It should though be noted that this is just the start of a series of consultations and proposed amendments, which will run in parallel with progression of the LURB with a more widespread NPPF review to follow in due course as the LURB progresses:
Local Plans
Housing Supply and Need
Neighbourhood Plans
Other Amendments
It's notable that the proposed amendments fail to take an opportunity to review other areas of the NPPF including how to effectively meet employment needs and how policy can best respond to challenges town centres are increasingly facing in a post-covid world, although wider amendments are anticipated to follow.
DHA would be keen to receive thoughts from clients and colleagues on the proposed changes and help shape responses to the consultation, so please get in touch with our team to discuss further.
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