The National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF), published in late March, aims to make the planning system less complex and more accessible, and to promote sustainable growth (see box for details). Planners and developers are only now beginning to understand what it means for development in England, especially in the context of economic uncertainty and austerity.
The NPPF is largely better than what went before in that it brings most policy together in one place (and brings England more into line with Scotland, where there have been fewer individual national planning documents for some time). But what specifically does it mean for utilities?
The word “utilities” appears only once in the NPPF: in the context of providing the evidence base for development plans, Local Planning Authorities (LPAs) are told to work with utilities to assess the capacity of infrastructure and take account of the need for strategic infrastructure in their areas. This, of course, has been happening for years.
There are other continuities too. For example, sustainability is already a given in any new development plan, so the “presumption” in its favour is fairly meaningless. Moreover, the primacy of the development plan remains in the short term because transitional arrangements have been put in place. For one year after its publication, development plans adopted since 2004 retain full weight.
Thereafter, however, existing plans – and all pre-2004 plans – will have to be considered in terms of their compliance with the current NPPF. This means that in decision-making, the NPPF can, and no doubt will, be increasingly given weight as a material planning consideration outweighing the provisions of the development plan. Planning by appeal is an inevitable consequence.
The transitional arrangements have been set up to give LPAs time to get their planning policy houses in order. We foresee a number of LPAs bringing forward plan preparation work, with associated additional work for utilities. Community plans are also emerging and we will see increasing numbers of them sitting with local plans. Utilities will have to engage in their preparation too to ensure appropriate infrastructure planning.
Most of the specific topic policies that we have become accustomed to in recent years, such as Historic Heritage, have survived by and large into the NPPF. Aside from the changes discussed concerning development plans, the principal change is around housing provision, influenced largely by pressures in the South East and London.
Housing supply is a big issue in the NPPF. LPAs have to identify (and update annually) a five-year supply of sites where housing can be delivered, plus a buffer of 5 per cent to ensure competition and choice in the market for land. Underperforming LPAs will have to have a 20 per cent buffer. This will mean in areas without a five-year supply already available, sites will come forward that are not presently planned for housing. This could prove challenging for utilities, particularly where infrastructure is already near capacity.
This immediate post-NPPF period is going to be uncertain, but the level of uncertainty will depend on local circumstances – specifically, when the development plan was adopted and whether there is a five-year land supply. In Atmos’s experience, the housing land supply issue is one that generally increases from north to the south, though there are certainly parts of the north with high demand for housing and low supply. This will mean utilities having to monitor what is happening locally in terms of council plans and engaging in the preparation of local plans.
Given the priority afforded to local plans, plus localism more generally, it is vital that utilities contribute to every relevant plan-making process undertaken. This is especially true for renewable energy providers, because local standards and policies could effectively rule out whole areas from development unless challenged – for example, on minimum separation distances between settlements and wind turbines.
So while on the face of it the NPPF has not fundamentally changed planning in England, the small print suggests otherwise. In many areas, “out of date” plans will mean the NPPF is effectively the basis for decision-making, increasing planning by appeal, given uncertainties as to how much weight should be given to individual policies. There also will be wide variations across England in terms of pressure for the release for housing of non-allocated sites or sites allocated for other purposes.
The government’s aim was to speed up planning and make it work better, due largely to issues in the South East. But the NPPF will not give complete certainty nor speed up planning – it will, in fact, fuel uncertainty and planning by appeal.
Moreover, the NPPF and localism will give rise to varying approaches to planning issues across the country. This ought to be a good thing, provided the various approaches taken are reasonable. But utilities must ensure that they are engaged in all relevant plan-making processes and be aware of community plan requirements. The success of the NPPF may very well depend on how its implementation goes in this time of austerity, with LPA and consultee cutbacks.
Philip Lewis is regional director and head of planning at environmental specialist Atmos Consulting
NPPF in a nutshell
“A new, simplified planning framework that better supports growth and helps create the homes and jobs that the country needs, puts unprecedented power into the hands of communities, and helps protect and enhance our natural and historic environment” was how the Department for Communities and Local Government described the NPPF when it was published in March.
The new 50-page document replaced over 1,300 pages of inherited policy in 44 separate documents. The government’s aim is for every area to have a clear local plan that sets out local people’s views of how they wish their community to develop, consistent with the framework and against which applications for planning permission will be judged.
Key elements include:
· enshrining the local plan – produced by local people – as the keystone of the planning system;
· making planning much simpler and more accessible;
· establishing a powerful presumption in favour of sustainable development that underpins all local plans and decisions;
· guaranteeing robust protections for the natural and historic environment, including the Green Belt, National Parks, Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty and Sites of Special Scientific Interest;
· encouraging the use of brownfield land in a way determined locally.
The new framework came into force with immediate effect.
This article first appeared in Utility Week’s print edition of 22 June 2012.
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