Planning opportunity for rural landowners – government launches consultation on National Planning Policy Framework

On Tuesday 16 December, Matthew Pennycook (Minister for Housing, and Planning) announced a consultation on the National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF) for England. The new NPPF has been entirely re-structured. It now sets out more clearly what needs to feature in local development plans, the general rules on making decisions on planning applications and the previous chapters have been amended, and in some cases, consolidated.

In addition to reviewing the new look NPPF, the consultation seeks views on reforming planning application site thresholds, standardising viability assessment inputs, simplifying the processes for planning obligations and the development of data centres and onsite energy generation.

Matthew Pennycook’s announcement was also accompanied by a commitment to exempt small sites of development (up to 0.2ha) from Biodiversity Net Gain (BNG). The NPPF consultation expands on this, stating that the government will consult on further easements and exemptions for different categories of site in the New Year.

“Ministers within MHCLG and Defra should be praised for listening,” says CLA President Gavin Lane. “This National Planning Policy Framework consultation represents a positive step forward for rural areas and, once enacted, these policies will boost growth in the countryside.

“The consultation acknowledges the unique challenges faced by rural communities and includes new policies on management of flood risk, energy and water. Now we need planning officers to have better access to training on rural issues and agricultural matters to ensure these reforms deliver for the countryside.”

Learn more about the CLA's Rural Powerhouse campaign here.

The Levelling Up and Regeneration Act 2023 introduced the concept of National Development Management Policies (NDMPs) – a new set of national planning policies intended to simplify and speed up plan-making. These policies, drafted and designated by central government, were intended to be statutory, carrying the same weight as Local Plans.

In October, Steve Reed confirmed that NDMPs would not have statutory status – a significant shift from the original vision. Without statutory footing, NDMPs can only been deemed as a ‘material consideration’ against a planning applications. However, this new version of the NPPF which includes NDMPs rather than keeping them separate means that planning policy changes can be implemented quickly and hopefully result in swift tangible improvements, particularly for development in rural areas.

It is worth noting the impact of the introduction of the grey belt into the NPPF in late 2024, which was a non-statutory change. This measure has unlocked significant development opportunities in a reasonably short space of time.

The consultation and revised NPPF is vast, with 225 questions, some of them significant. An overview of the most relevant proposals for CLA members is provided below.

The CLA will continue to review the specific detail of the consultation over the coming weeks and will prepare a consultation response with member input. We will also be taking this opportunity to further emphasise to government the importance of providing planning officers with better access to training on rural issues and agricultural matters. This will ensure these reforms deliver for the countryside.

In line with the Planning and Infrastructure Act and the government’s devolution agenda, the concept for Spatial Development Strategies (SDSs) has been set out within the NPPF consultation. These documents should set out a positive vision for growth at a regional scale. It is proposed that the content of these documents is strategic with detailed issues continuing to be addressed by more specific local plans for areas. We must ensure that these strategies have a coherent approach to sustainable development in rural areas and that they are given the same amount of acknowledgment as urban areas.

The new look NPPF’s approach to development is in favour of plans that are ‘suitably located’. This approach introduces two new policies: S4 (development within settlements) and S5 (development outside settlements). S5 sets out a list of development that is considered as appropriate outside settlement boundaries including work linked to rural businesses and services that need to be in these types of areas. For CLA members, this will create greater clarity and consistency for the types of development that will be allowed within the countryside.

A new planning policy has been introduced into the NPPF which requires substantial weight to be given to the economic benefits of proposals for commercial development, including farm and agricultural modernisation proposals that relate to domestic food production, animal welfare and the environment.

The existing paragraphs of the NPPF that focus on the rural economy have also been amended and strengthen the national support for both agricultural development and diversification. The CLA called for a greater emphasis on this part of the NPPF in 2024 and welcomes this change.

In 2024, the government introduced the concept of the grey belt into the planning system. This updated version of the NPPF streamlines the grey belt definition and adapts the ‘golden rules’ for such development, reviewing how viability assessments are applied.

A key change is in development that is considered as appropriate in the green belt, with the allowance of development for agriculture rather than just agricultural buildings. The CLA will continue to call for a further amendment to include development for the diversification of agricultural and/or rural businesses in the green belt.

The consultation provides further opportunities for the CLA to lobby for an increase in support for rural social and affordable housing. There is a proposal to amend the definition of Designated Rural Areas to allow affordable housing contributions to be sought on minor development in parishes with a population of less than 3,000 (or a density of fewer than two people per hectare).

In addition, it seems there is finally an improvement in the government’s recognition of Rural Exception Sites (RES), after extensive lobbying by the CLA. The revised NPPF re-drafts previous policies for this type of development whilst removing first homes exception sites to reduce competition with RESs. The consultation asks how benchmark land values and their use alongside viability assessments could make development of this type more viable.

Following a working paper on site thresholds earlier in 2025, the government is seeking further views on the potential introduction of a new definition of ‘medium’ sized development of 10-49 units on sites of up to 2.5 hectares.

The NPPF chapter on conserving and enhancing the natural environment has been revised to incorporate new legal requirements. Approaches to working with nature and the planning system are to be aligned, particularly green infrastructure and nature-based strategies. Changes have also been incorporated into planning policy to reflect the introduction of Local Nature Recovery Strategies.

While the revised NPPF’s stated ambition to “support the sustainable redevelopment of heritage assets to drive growth” and to improve clarity is encouraging, the detailed proposals fall short of fully delivering on these objectives. In practice, the changes risk creating ambiguity within the planning system, which could lead to increased uncertainty and potential legal challenges.

New chapters have been included within the NPPF on energy, water and managing flood risk and coastal change. For the preparation of local plans, this means a requirement for plans to reflect the capacity and future requirements for energy and water. A new policy on water will support developments for water supply, drainage or wastewater infrastructure that are not already covered by permitted development. We need to look at the detail, but again this could be very useful to many members.

The new NPPF proposes a default ‘yes’ for development around rail stations, including those located within the green belt. The proposal is prescriptive, designating minimum densities per hectare for sites and recognising that not all stations will be capable of the same amount of growth.

Over the coming weeks, the CLA team will refine its analysis of the proposal and consult members to develop its response to the consultation.