National Planning Policy Framework: Government takes second shot to boost housing supply

The Government have housing developers in the cross hairs once again with reforms to the National Planning Policy Framework which aims to increase the number of “affordable” houses being built and cut back on private company profits and corporate bonuses.

The key reforms to the National Planning Policy Framework are set to include:

• 10% of homes on major sites should be available for affordable home ownership
• Builders to be more open about affordable housing commitments at planning stage
• Councils will have to adopt a new nationwide standard showing housing need in their areas
• Infrastructure needs to be considered at pre-planning stage
• Councils to consider revoking planning permission after two years if building has not started
• Ancient Woodland and aged trees to get specific protection

The Government billed the reforms as “rewriting the rules on planning” but only time will tell if policies targeting developer’s pockets are a sustainable way to boost housing supply.

The full consultation can be found here.