The government’s gift to developers? A new NPPF  .

On the heels of its electoral success and incentivised to deliver against its manifesto pledges, the government published its revised NPPF at the end of last year which saw the introduction of grey-belt policy and reintroduction of mandatory housing targets.  

The 2025 NPPF is vastly different but has the same objective – to eliminate the obstacles that prevent new homes from being built. 

The planning system is the bedrock of housing delivery, and the government has focused its efforts this year on bringing forward reforms that streamline the system and make it fit-for-purpose.  

Through the new NPPF, the government sets out its plan to make the system more ‘rules’ based in order to provide clearer guidance for developers and local authorities and hoping to give the private sector the certainty it needs to get building.  

In a year where housing completions have seen a six per cent decrease – as economic uncertainty and speculation around tax changes impact consumer demand and policy reform and viability challenges affect supply side – this certainty is needed. 

As with wider policy reform, there will understandably be questions from the industry about when these changes will come into place.  The government has circumvented the criticism around this, noting that the new national decision-making policies override conflicting policies in Local Plans. 

A key element of the reforms is the default ‘yes’ approach.  In November, automatic approvals for development near transport hubs were announced and the government has since confirmed that approvals will be granted for suitable development around rail stations within existing areas and around well-connected rail stations.  This also applies to green belt land. 

As part of this, the government is looking to increase densities, from setting out a minimum density for housing near and around well-connected train stations to supporting the redevelopment of existing sites, through upwards extensions, for example. 

The automatic approvals, in combination with the grey-belt policy and a move towards increasing densification, is intended to unlock more land for residential development. 

Government has described brownfield land as the “first port of call”, building on its ‘brownfield passport’ policy announced in 2024, and now setting out plans to consult on an additional biodiversity net gain (BNG) exemption for brownfield sites.  However, streamlining the planning system may not go far enough for brownfield development which poses significant costs to developers and creates viability challenges. 

The new NPPF also introduces greater support for social and affordable housing within rural areas and aims to bring forward accessible housing for older people and people with disabilities. Proposals include a new definition of the Designated Rural Areas term, allowing affordable housing contributions on smaller developments in less populated areas. 

SME housebuilders have received a significant boost, with the introduction of the medium site category for schemes consisting of 10 to 49 homes and an extension to the threshold for the Building Safety Levy in line with the new category.  

In a major move, BNG requirements will be removed for small sites, while a range of simplified requirements to improve the implementation of BNG on small and medium sites that are not exempted from BNG requirements is being explored.  

The mounting costs of housebuilding have been widely documented and policies like BNG have impacted viability and created delays.  This move is an attempt to reduce the cost and time burdens placed on both smaller developers and local planning authorities.  

Beyond housing, the new NPPF sees the government simplifying the process for infrastructure delivery to support the growth sectors identified throughout the year – and this offers a boost to local economies. 

New types of infrastructure are expected to benefit from the raft of planning reforms.  Data centres have been classified as critical national infrastructure and there’s a move towards ensuring planning system delays do not prevent them from coming forward.  

The Planning and Infrastructure Bill, which has now received Royal Assent, will play a key role in addressing these delays, speeding up decisions and enabling data centres to be directed into the NSIP regime. 

Reforms to support the data centre sector will work in tandem with the Planning and Infrastructure Act, with the government considering an increased threshold for renewable energy projects co-located with data centre projects in order to accelerate the planning process for these schemes.  

As with planning measures focused on housing, this policy will provide developers with greater certainty early on and attract investment that can boost local economies and support communities. 

The government has invested in making the planning system fit-for-purpose, with the hopes that developers, provided with more certainty, will be able to get spades into the ground faster.   

Only time will show how these reforms measure up, in the face of rising build costs and an unpromising economic climate, or if next Christmas will see yet another planning-based present under developers’ trees.