The updated National Planning Policy Framework, revised practice guidance, and upcoming reforms are expected to begin establishing the conditions needed within the planning system to address the various obstacles to development.

The government’s new requirement for certain local authorities to add a 20 per cent buffer to their five-year housing land supply figure from July 2026 puts councils under fresh pressure but gives landowners and developers a chance to look again at prospective sites.

The previous update of the NPPF, freed planning authorities with up-to-date local plans from the need to demonstrate a five-year housing land supply. It also cut the requirement to four years for those with advanced draft plans.

The Labour government, recognising the damage this was doing to the development industry and its potential to further exacerbate the housing crisis, have worked quickly to undo those measures.

The changes in the latest NPPF therefore represent a significant adjustment meaning that if the annual housing requirement figure in a Local Authorities plan is 80 per cent or less than the local need figure calculated by the government’s revised standard methodology, they will have to add a new 20 per cent buffer to their five-year housing land supply figure from the beginning of July 2026. This effectively equates to a 6-year housing land supply.

Developers and promoters will be looking closely at which Local Authorities will soon be in this position and will be considering whether to take forward planning applications and appeals which last year would have been considered too risky.

Head of Planning Dan Hewett comments that, “Now is the time to reassess whether you have land with development potential, as there may be opportunities to secure allocations or planning permissions in the coming year or so on sites which were previously considered to have much longer-term prospects.”

If you would like to discuss the potential of your land or buildings in light of these changes, please get in touch with our planning consultancy team.

e: advice@wilsonwraight.co.uk
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