New housing targets take effect following update to national planning rules

An updated National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF) has taken effect, introducing new mandatory housing targets for local authorities.

The updated NPPF sets new ambitious housing targets for local councils that will require them to deliver a combined 370,000 new homes a year. With targets also becoming mandatory, councils have been given 12 weeks to put in place a timetable for updating Local Plans to meet new targets, which have increased for the majority of areas.

In Stockport, a draft local plan was withdrawn earlier this year ahead of an Autumn consultation following publication of new housing targets set by Deputy Prime Minister Angela Rayner which has nearly doubled the number of new homes that would need to be built in the borough each year to 1,906. Stockport has been without a Local Plan since pulling out of the Greater Manchester Spatial Framework over the city-region wide plan’s potential for Greenbelt loss in the borough.

Alongside the new housing targets, the updated NPPF will also change planning officers’ approach to the Greenbelt. Councils will be required to review their greenbelt boundaries to meet targets and identifylower quality ‘grey belt’ land. Greenbelt development also must meet requirements for developers to provide necessary infrastructure such as nurseries, GP surgeries and transport, as well as a premium level of social and affordable housing. Brownfield land will remain the first port of call for any new development, however, the default answer from local authorities when asked to build on brownfield should always be ‘yes’.

Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer said:

“We’re taking immediate action to make the dream of homeownership a reality through delivering 1.5 million homes by the next parliament and rebuilding Britain to deliver for working people.”

Deputy Prime Minister and Secretary of State for Housing, Angela Rayner said:

 “Today’s landmark overhaul will sweep away last year’s damaging changes and shake-up a broken planning system which caves into the blockers and obstructs the builders. 

“I will not hesitate to do what it takes to build 1.5 million new homes over five years and deliver the biggest boost in social and affordable housebuilding in a generation. 

”We must all do our bit and we must all do more. We expect every local area to adopt a plan to meet their housing need. The question is where the homes and local services people expect are built, not whether they are built at all.”  

To support councils to update their local plans and review their current greenbelt land, areas will receive an additional £100 million funding to ensure they have resources to do so.

Implementation of the updated NPPF follows a consultation on the proposals which received over 10,000 responses. The full document is published on the Government website here.