Local Government East (LGE) has made it clear today that planners in the East of England need stronger guidance and definitions from the draft NPPF document, or there is a risk that planning will be held back.
LGE is responding on behalf of the East of England to the “National Planning Policy Framework: proposed reforms and other changes to the planning system” consultation.
There are measures which local authorities in the East of England feel positively about. For example, the rollout of Spatial Development Strategies (SDS), to provide certainty for developers over the long-term, is welcomed. Furthermore, the Government’s commitment to affordable housing is much needed in a region where a home can be many times the average resident’s salary.
However, the NPPF in its current form is let down by ambiguous language, vague definitions, and an unclear distribution of responsibilities between local plans and these new SDSs.
Furthermore, LGE calls upon the Government to be bolder within the NPPF, particularly around the quota for the construction of homes that are accessible for individuals with mobility issues and disabilities given the significant increases in people over 65. Building regulations and the NPPF should be an ambitious backstop, with local areas encouraged to go above and beyond these minimum requirements to achieve better results for our residents.
Unfortunately, in areas such as local regulation, it has become much harder for local authorities to influence energy efficiency and other sustainability metrics. LGE calls upon the Government to allow local authorities to rise to the challenge and enable the sector to pursue the UK’s climate goals.
Health is another area of concern. The new NPPF removes explicit references to the role of planning in improving health outcomes; wording that exists in the current framework. While LGE recognises that health will form part of the SDS process in future, it stresses that local planning authorities still have an important role to play right now, and that this wording should be reinstated.
Cllr Deborah Saw, Lead Member for Infrastructure, Growth and Planning for LGE and the Deputy Leader of Babergh District Council, said:
“Local Authorities across the region have responded to this consultation with the aim of helping the Government achieve its missions of economic and housing growth. Local democracy is not a brake on development and local communities must not be cut out of the planning process. I urge the Government to act upon the feedback they have received from local authorities which is designed to secure a planning system that is effective and balances the interests of all.”
To read LGE’s full response, please find the letter submitted to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government here.