Property professionals have broadly welcomed the revised National Planning Policy Framework, especially its changes to the greenbelt.

Deputy prime minister Angela Rayner introduced the reformed NPPF yesterday, describing it as a “landmark overhaul” of the planning system geared towards enabling the delivery of 1.5m homes over the next five years.

Major planning overhaul to be unveiled today to reach 1.5 million new homes – Property Industry Eye

Industry reaction:

Glen Richardson, associate partner at Carter Jonas, said: “We welcome the fact that following July’s draft NPPF, the words “beauty” and “beautiful” have been removed from the final version.  Such subjective terms were always going to be challenging to define in terms of planning policy and could have led to lengthy and unproductive discussions at both the application or appeal stages of projects.

“We also note that much greater weight is now being placed on supporting brownfield redevelopment, not just the principle of doing so.  Paragraph 125c changes the previous consultation wording in relation to the development of brownfield land from ‘regarded as acceptable in principle’ to ‘approved unless substantial harm would be caused’.

“This change to the NPPF will likely accelerate the grant of planning consent for a number of urban brownfield schemes given the clarity of the new wording, subject to there being no ‘substantial harm’.   In addition, the new paragraph 125c may help the delivery of new homes on currently stalled brownfield sites, but we know that developing brownfield sites is rarely straightforward, so the real-world benefits of the wording change remain to be seen.”

Anthony Codling, head of European housing and building materials research at RBC Capital Market, commented: “The Labour Party should be congratulated on the speed at which it has delivered on its planning reform promises. We will hit the ground running in 2025 with a new lean, mean and agile planning machine. The ‘Presumption in Favour of Sustainable Development is Back’ and for Local Authorities it’s now a case of my way or the highway – In the new world there is no room for Bob the Blocker, if local plans don’t add up planning decisions will be taken by Keir the Builder. The message to local authorities is clear, step up or step aside.

Simon Brown, CEO of Landmark Information Group, said: “The publication of the updated National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF) is a significant moment to tackle long-standing challenges in housing and infrastructure to deliver the Government’s ambitious 1.5m home target.

“However, systemic barriers—such as fragmented processes, overburdened professionals, and limited information-sharing—still impede progress. By leveraging data more effectively, we can identify demand hotspots, streamline development, and ensure homes are built in the right locations, supported by the necessary infrastructure to foster thriving communities.”

CPRE chief executive Roger Mortlock, commented: “The broken housebuilding market is to blame for the painfully slow delivery of much-needed new homes. When big housebuilders deliberately limit the supply of new homes to maximise their profits, supercharging the current system will not lead to the change the government is looking for.  

“The government’s plans risk a huge hike in the number of unaffordable, car-dependent homes. Building on England’s 1.2 million shovel-ready brownfield sites would do far more to unlock growth, regenerate communities and provide sustainable, genuinely affordable new homes. 

“We welcome the commitment to local plans and affordable homes. However, local authorities responsible for delivering new homes will be swamped with speculative applications on high-quality Green Belt and farmland. Inevitably, many of these will be approved to meet nationally imposed targets.  

“The ‘grey belt’ policy needs to be much more clearly defined and exclude working farms. It will undermine the Green Belt, one of this country’s most successful spatial protections with huge potential to help address the climate and nature emergencies.  

“There’s some hope ahead with plans for a strategy that covers all our use of land. Longer-term commitments to build genuinely affordable and better designed homes are welcome too. Until then,, our countryside will remain needlessly under threat.” 

Timothy Douglas, head of policy and campaigns at Propertymark, said: “An infrastructure first approach is key to delivering the homes the country desperately needs. Whilst mandatory targets focus minds towards achieving a goal, a one size fits all approach to housing delivery will not be enough if the UK Government are to hit their ambitious housing targets. More must be done to work with local authorities to ensure there is the capacity, political will and buy-in from local communities to build in more areas across the country.”

Ian Barnett, national land director, Leaders Romans Group (LRG), added: “What a difference a year makes.  The NPPF changes announced provide and new framework for the industry to work to and a flurry of activity on LinkedIn as everyone seeks to understand the key points and how they will affect their projects.

“There have been many grand announcements in my time in planning and development.  The priority has always been to build enough houses for the country’s population in the right places in a manner that protects the most valuable landscapes and environmentally sensitive areas.

“So are the latest announcements in any different to what we’ve all heard before?  On paper – yes absolutely.  The conviction and tone as well as the content (and indeed the fact it’s announced ahead of when most people expected!) does suggest that this time at least the Government is serious.

“The new NPPF gives an opportunity for the whole narrative on development and housing delivery to change.  Whilst some would like to have seen more in terms of strategic planning, today’s NPPF at least gives a new window of opportunity for many sites that are suitable for development and which have been held up by inefficiencies and lack of resources, meddling local politics and NIMBYism to come forward.

“Delivering 1.5m houses in the first term is ambitious and unrealistic but it was utterly impossible under the previous planning system.  The time for delivery is here and it’s the responsibility of everyone in the industry – developers, landowners, planners and local authorities to do what is needed.  The framework is there – but it will take time to bed in and what we need now more than anything after a new NPPF update for the last two Christmases is stability so we can get on with the task ahead.”

Major planning overhaul to be unveiled today to reach 1.5 million new homes