1. REFORM
If nothing else, 2024 was a year of change, on a global, national and local level. For planning, the reforms to the NPPF, PPG and Standard Method for housing published in December; the Planning and Infrastructure Bill announced in the autumn; and the Devolution Bill just before Christmas, present some of the most significant changes to planning regulation in a generation. In particular, the updated NPPF and related announcements have changed the narrative regarding development as a driver of growth (for example, in respect of Green Belt policy), and the implications for house building set the foundations for an exciting 2025.

2. GREEN BELT/GREY BELT
One of the most publicised changes to the NPPF is the introduction of ‘Grey Belt’ and the revised wording regarding Green Belt protection, amended to encourage release of sustainable development sites and representing the biggest change to Green Belt policy since the designation was introduced. This has implications for both plan-making and decision-taking. For decision-taking, land that qualifies as Grey Belt will be suitable for new housing where certain conditions are met, including an absence of a five-year housing land supply. The key test is for the land to not strongly/fundamentally contribute to some of the purposes of Green Belt. The prospect of Green Belt land being released for development in new local plans has also been clarified, noting that meeting housing needs is an ‘exceptional circumstance’ justifying a review of Green Belt boundaries. The 2024 NPPF also introduces ‘golden rules’ for Green Belt release, including a requirement for provision of infrastructure and green spaces and affordable housing provided at either 15% above the requirement in a local plan or a maximum of 50%.

3. WIND POWER
One of the first changes the government introduced was an amendment to the NPPF to (former) footnotes 57 and 58 so they no longer apply, effectively bringing the development of onshore wind turbines onto an equal footing with other types of infrastructure and removing a planning barrier to this type of development coming forward. This ends the effective moratorium on onshore wind and could see a growth in this type of renewable energy provision.

4. DEVOLUTION
In October’s Budget, the government underlined its intention for more regions to benefit from devolution, with the first ‘integrated settlements’ being launched this year. The English Devolution White Paper was published in December 2024 and sets out proposals for greater mayoral powers including for planning, housing, transport, energy and employment; the need for Local Growth Plans to align with the national industrial strategy and a return of strategic plan-making powers. Although this joined up approach to planning and development is welcomed and long-term strategies are likely to play an important role in years to come, short-term solutions will also be needed to tackle the significant unmet housing and employment needs which exist.

5. STREAMLINING
In addition to changes to local authorities, the government is also seeking to make the planning system more efficient and accessible through standardising significant elements. The first relates to plan-making – we understand the NPPF will be revised further as National Development Management Policies are introduced which seek to remove duplication in local plan policies and enable councils to agree shorter and more locally-focused plans, in theory speeding up plan-making and making a clearer decision-making process. A second streamlining measure outlined in the Planning and Infrastructure Bill is a national scheme of delegation, which may effectively give more powers to professional planning officers and standardise the scope of elected planning committees. We await the outcome of the topic paper consultation to see how this is carried forward.

6. NSIPs
The Planning and Infrastructure Bill is also expected to simplify the consent process for major infrastructure projects, including amending the process to enable five-yearly updates and amending the current ad-hoc process of reviews by the secretary of state when considered appropriate. We also hope clarity is provided over how BNG for NSIP projects will be applied, as this is targeted for November 2025.

7. NATURE
In December the government also published a working paper on development and nature recovery, setting out measures which seek to unlock the positive impact development can have in driving nature recovery through the Planning and Infrastructure Bill. This approach would use funding from development to deliver environmental improvements at a scale which will have the greatest impact. This could enable the government to make the necessary legislative changes to establish a more efficient and effective way for Habitats Regulations and other environmental obligations to be discharged, pooling individual contributions to deliver the strategic interventions necessary, and seems to relate to the devolution/strategic scale approach to other development other Bills have outlined.

8. BIOPHILIA
A strand of ‘designing with nature’, biophilia links to ‘Building with Nature’ standards and health and wellbeing. Biophilic design is a concept used within the building industry to increase connectivity to the natural environment through the inclusion of direct nature, indirect nature, and space and place conditions. Our Urban Design team anticipates increased biophilic focus this year.

9. WELLNESS AND WELLBEING
We have seen this metric increasingly used to assess applications and promotions in the early stages of development. The Building for a Healthy Life approach developed by the housing industry seeks to help applications focus more on active travel, air quality and biodiversity, and we anticipate an uptick in its use over 2025. A standardised approach to measuring wellness will be needed, and it will be interesting to see how measures are implemented on the ground and how this aligns with the prominence of social value in making planning decisions.

10. FLOODING AND SEQUENTIAL TESTS
The revised NPPF changed the requirements for a sequential test for flooding, and seeks to apply a common sense approach to flooding policy. Now only where at risk development itself (as opposed to open space or land for BNG etc) falls within the land at risk of flooding will a sequential test be required. Over the next year, the development industry will hope that this changed wording will be applied in decision-making, as in 2024 we saw Inspectors take a different approach in some appeals.

Further information

Contact Alison Broderick