The government has published a new consultation seeking views on the proposed approach to revising the National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF) in order to achieve sustainable growth in our planning system.

The government is also seeking views on a series of wider policy proposals in relation to increasing planning fees, local plan intervention criteria and appropriate thresholds for certain Nationally Significant Infrastructure Projects (NSIP).

With the aim of delivering affordable housing, the government is looking to improve the existing system of developer contributions. “We believe the best way to achieve this will be to focus on improving the existing system of developer contributions, which means the Government is not implementing the Infrastructure Levy as introduced in the Levelling-up and Regeneration Act 2023. As part of this, we will look to set clear planning policy requirements on Green Belt land.”

On water, the government is seeking views on improving the current thresholds for water resources developments in the NSIP regime.

“We are considering how we can provide water undertakers with greater certainty on the planning route for their new strategic water infrastructure, to support faster delivery, helping to address the issues we are increasingly seeing with water scarcity and quality. We are aware that areas of the Planning Act 2008 in relation to water infrastructure projects could be amended to ensure projects of national importance are captured within the NSIP regime.

We believe that the Planning Act 2008 could be amended to bring into the definition of NSIP:

1. water infrastructure projects that are designed to be used intermittently but provide significant peak water supplies during droughts;
2. the construction, maintenance or operation of water infrastructure by a third party on behalf of a water undertaker;
3. water recycling, which will be an important option for securing water supplies and one that is commonly used around the world; and
4. infrastructure which transfers treated drinking water.”

This consultation closes on 24 September 2024.