The new National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF) is out for consultation (published on 30 July with an 8-week period for consultation) and the new government has introduced its intention to make other changes to housing delivery policy.
As flagged up in the election campaign, targets for new housing are likely to be expanded significantly and to be made mandatory. While there are some useful points in the new draft, new housing numbers will present severe challenges to many Local Authorities as the potential threat to Green Belt areas is more explicit. The five year housing land supply requirement is retained (para 76). Green Belt will be weakened by the Grey Belt designation (para 155) although there are still some safeguards. Density levels are discussed and minimum levels are proposed where there is good public transport available (para 129).
Whilst Labour’s plans are focused on delivering large numbers of homes through mandatory local housing targets and the creation of new settlements, the NPPF consultation does ask the specific question What measures should we consider to better support and increase rural affordable housing? Community First Oxfordshire will respond to this. We believe it is vital that communities directly benefit from housing development. Affordable rural housing projects may be small in scale but yield major benefits, contributing significantly to community investment and economic prosperity. Key to being able to deliver this is strong and supportive policy for Rural Exception Sites and access to the grant funding necessary to deliver 100% affordable homes.
On that point, one positive is the announced intention for local authorities to retain 100% of receipts from people exercising their Right to Buy their social home. These can be used alongside money raised through developer affordable housing contributions (S06 obligations) that are paid to the local authority as a cash sum to be reinvested into new local housing. This could be a useful source of funding for these rural schemes. In Oxfordshire, since DEFRA put funding in place in 2023 for a new national Rural Housing Enabling Service, CFO has made good progress working with local communities to evaluate local housing need and support the identification of sites that could meet this need.
Responses should be made to the NPPF consultation by 24 September, following which there will be publication – in due course – of a revised planning framework. The Ministerial Statement in July said this would be towards the end of 2024 and that there would be new legislation covering many of these matters, including infrastructure provision. As well as keeping abreast of policy changes, Community First Oxfordshire will continue to lobby for our local community needs.
National Planning Policy Framework: draft text for consultation (publishing.service.gov.uk)