Reed aims to speed-up house building with ‘seismic’ NPPF overhaul

Proposed reforms to national planning policy will be the biggest shake-up for the system in more than a decade, according to the government.

Speaking at the launch of a consultation on the updated proposals, Steve Reed says the changes, which are designed to standardise planning rules, accelerate local plans and help deliver on ambitious housing targets, are the most significant to the NPPF since its introduction in 2012.

Reed has made no secret of his desire to light a fire under local planning departments since taking office last year, as the government seeks to meet an ambitious target of building 1.5m new homes by the end of the current parliament in 2029.

The Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government unveiled a 123-page document outlining twelve areas of significant policy changes this week, the latest round of rewrites to the NPPF, which combined with amendments introduced in December last year amount to a “seismic re-gearing of the system”, the department says.

The changes, if adopted, are intended to provide more certainty for developers and speed up local plan production by standardising more elements of national policy, as well as reducing the amount of variation applied by local councils.

Higher profile elements of the proposals include an automatic “yes” to the principle of development for homes near railway stations with high connectivity – including on Green Belt land – which recognises stations as sustainable locations for development by default.

Other changes also include a permanent presumption in favour of residential development in sustainable urban locations, a standardisation process for housing which is set to mirror the introduction of “brownfield passports” in last year’s update, making development of former industrial sites in urban areas acceptable by default.

Substantial weight will also be given in the planning process to commercial schemes which support business growth such as AI Growth Zones, logistics developments, and schemes in town and city centres, which the government says will support its “number one mission” of delivering economic growth across the country.

A full list of updates included in the policy can be found in the draft consultation on the government’s website.

“These proposals will make the NPPF clearer, more rules-based, and easier to navigate for communities, councils, and developers alike,” said Reed at the launch of the consultation.

“They will accelerate the Government’s commitments to achieve economic growth, build 1.5 million new homes in this Parliament and secure clean power by 2030.

“The revised NPPF separates out policies for plan-making and decision-making. These changes are designed to make planning policy easier to use, underpin the development of faster and simpler local plans, and be more directive of decision-making in support of both appropriate housing and commercial development.”

The consultation runs until 10 March 2026.