Changes needed to NPPF to stop unsustainable development, say MPs

The National Planning Policy Framework has brought welcome simplification to the planning system but must be strengthened to prevent unsustainable development in some areas, MPs have warned.

In a report the Communities and Local Government Committee said inappropriate housing was being imposed upon some communities as a result of speculative planning applications. It also warned that town centres were being given insufficient protection against the threat of out of town development.

The MPs called for a number of changes to be made. These were that:

• Steps should be taken to ensure that the planning system delivers the sustainable development promised in the NPPF. “We should ensure that the same weight is given to the environmental and social as to the economic dimension; that permission is only given to development if accompanied by the infrastructure necessary to support it; and that the planning system places due emphasis on the natural environment.”
• All councils must move much more quickly to get an adopted plan in place. “This will give communities increased protection against the threat of undesirable development." There should be a statutory requirement for councils to get local plans adopted within three years of legislation being enacted.
• The complex issue of land supply needed to be addressed. “Provisions in the NPPF relating to the viability of housing land are leading to inappropriate development: these loopholes must be closed.” There also needed to be clearer guidance about how housing need should be assessed. In addition, local authorities should be encouraged to review their green belts as part of the local planning process.
• Changes should be made to ensure the NPPF gives greater protection to town centres. “The internet has changed the way we shop; town centre planning policy must therefore evolve too. We call for an end to permitted development that allows shops and buildings used for financial and professional services to become homes without planning permission, a policy which is undermining the local planning process.”

The CLG committee's report said: “The NPPF makes clear that importance of a plan-led system that delivers sustainable development. We trust that the Government will make the changes we propose to ensure that this principle is met and the NPPF becomes a document in which everyone can have greater confidence.”

Clive Betts MP, Chair of the Communities and Local Government Committee, argued that councils needed to do more to protect their communities against the threat of undesirable development by moving quickly to get an adopted Local Plan in place.

“The NPPF is designed to work side by side with local plans,” he said. “At the moment, 41% of local authorities do not have an adopted local plan which is simply not good enough. To put an end to councils dragging their feet on this issue, we call for the Government to make it a statutory requirement for councils to get local plans adopted within three years of the legislation being enacted.”

Betts continued: “We must also close the loophole that allows developers to challenge the inclusion of sites within a council’s five year supply on the grounds of viability. We heard that developers were claiming sites were unviable in order to obtain planning permission on other, more lucrative sites against the wishes of the council and community. In doing so, they are undermining and delaying the local planning process.

“Requiring all sites with planning permission to be counted towards an authority’s five year supply will help put a stop to this behaviour and give communities greater protection.”

The committee’s report, The Operation of the National Planning Policy Framework, can be viewed here.

Commenting on the report, a spokesman for the Local Government Association said: “Councils have long been calling for an end to government's permitted development policy, which has seen high streets and communities changed with no consultation of those living and working in them, as well as pressure on schools, roads and health services. The committee is right to recognise that permitted development rights are not working and we urge government to listen to the committee's call to end them.”

He added: “It is absolutely vital that planning decisions are made in line with the wishes of local communities. Councils work hard to engage with residents and consult on plans for development. Local plans provide a framework for development in communities but getting a local plan right can take time.

”This is not the right time to change the NPPF and rather than make changes or issue new guidance, we need the Government to provide developers and communities with certainty over the system and give the framework time to bed in.”