New NPPF a Cause for Concern

Following a consultation earlier in the year, the government has now published a revised National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF) with bold intentions to change the planning system.

The revised framework re-introduces mandatory targets for councils, with significant increases in the numbers of new homes expected and while a “brownfield first” strategy remains key to the Government’s approach, councils will be required to review their green belt boundaries by identifying lower quality “grey belt” land that could be built on, a decision which we at CPRE find disappointing.

While we await further clarification of the misleading ‘grey belt’ term in the new year, we are concerned about the inevitable speculative applications on high-quality Green Belt and farmland, many of which will no doubt be approved to meet nationally imposed targets. We need bold action to tackle the housing crisis, but, given that we are also facing a climate and biodiversity emergency, that shouldn’t come at the expense of our countryside, farmland and natural spaces. 

We will continue to assess the impact of the NPPF and what it means for our countryside.