'Wasted opportunity': Housing secretary admits National Development Management Policies won’t be statutory

National Development Management Policies won’t be statutory, housing secretary Steve Reed has admitted, drawing criticism from the CLA.

Mr Reed told MPs earlier this week that NDMPs will be non-statutory, with more details due to be announced before Christmas.

With the government aim to build 1.5million homes this Parliament and expressing desire to reform the planning system, NDMPs have emerged as a central pillar in reshaping how planning decisions are made across England.

NDMPs are a new category of national planning policy introduced under the Levelling-up and Regeneration Act 2023. Unlike the broader National Planning Policy Framework which guides plan-making and decision-taking, NDMPs are intended to directly influence planning decisions by overriding local policies where there is a conflict.

But the CLA is concerned making them non-statutory will water down their potential effectiveness.

CLA President Victoria Vyvyan said:

“Rural areas are crying out for a simpler, faster planning system, to enable businesses to diversify and grow, and to provide much-needed housing to improve the sustainability of communities.

“National Development Management Policies (NDMPs) have the potential to help unlock our archaic planning system, but will be a wasted opportunity if they are not statutory.

“Rather than enabling significant planning reform, they simply risk becoming another layer of guidance. The planning system will not speed up – local plans will continue to be delayed and there will be further uncertainty and delay with planning decisions.

“These policies must be statutory to have any impact on not just the rural economy, but the planning system as a whole.”

The CLA awaits the announcement of the consultation on these policies and will be responding.