What does the new NPPF consultation mean for economic development?
An eight-week consultation on an updated NPPF commenced between 30th July and 24th September, with the adoption of the final document expected later this year or early next year.
This insight piece outlines our top ten changes to the NPPF aimed at supporting economic growth:
1. Making it easier to build facilities needed to support the wider supply chain
Making it easier to build laboratories, gigafactories, data centres, digital infrastructure, grid connections and the facilities needed to support the wider supply chain. This will be done through encouraging suitable sites for these uses to be identified in local plans. We imagine that further details of these key growth sectors will be revealed in the long-awaited Industrial Strategy.
2. Speeding up the delivery of critical infrastructure
Proposed introduction of data centres, gigafactories and laboratories to be directed into the Nationally Significant Infrastructure Projects regime to help speed up the delivery of critical infrastructure.
3. Supporting other key growth industries in the rural economy
Supporting the expansion or modernisation of other key growth industries in the rural economy, through requiring that additional commercial sites are identified and positively considered in planning decisions, when they are of local, regional or national importance, and to further support economic growth and resilience. This amendment is welcomed, given that commercial employment development has been undervalued for many years.
4. Proposed use of grey belt land for commercial uses
This supports wider social and economic objectives, alongside residential development. The ‘golden rules’ of 50% affordable housing, access to green space and necessary community infrastructure (schools, GP surgeries) will apply to mixed use developments.
5. Introduction of new mechanisms for cross-boundary strategic planning
Introducing this (as well as strengthening the existing Duty to Cooperate) is much needed to ensure a coherent approach to ‘larger than local’ consideration of economic infrastructure.
6. Promoting skills and building the future workforce
To promote skills for the future economy and encourage parents to rejoin the workforce, authorities must ensure a sufficient supply of post-16 school places and early years places in new and existing communities.
7. Renewable and low carbon energy generation
Proposed amendments that decision makers give significant weight to the benefits associated with renewable and low carbon energy generation, and proposals’ contribution to meeting a net zero future. This is a win for the net zero transition, but also for the potential employment, skills development and supply chain opportunities that clean growth could generate across the UK.
8. Proactive identification of sites for renewable energy generation
Stronger expectations that local authorities proactively identify sites for renewable energy generation. Releasing land for renewable energy generation will be fruitless without serious attempts at tackling the grid connections queue, which is currently one of the most significant barriers to delivering renewable energy developments. The success of this amendment is therefore highly dependent on actions taken to help tackle the grid connections queue (such as that outlined in number 1) and other major challenges to clean growth.
9. Proposed introduction of onshore renewables to the NSIP regime
Proposed introduction of onshore wind and solar power to the NSIP regime, under higher energy generation thresholds to reflect advancing technologies.
10. Boosting job creation
The majority of proposed changes set out in the draft NPPF are focussed on boosting housing delivery, and there is a clear ambition to utilise increased levels of housebuilding to create jobs. However, do we have the workers, skills and training infrastructure to fill those jobs? We suspect this will be a huge challenge given the difficulties the construction sector is currently facing finding teachers and trainers.
Overall, the proposed changes are positive steps for local economic development and particularly for clean growth, life sciences and digital infrastructure industries.
Supporting delivery of new sites for commercial and employment development through the planning system is to be welcomed, but as is well understood, there are wider delivery pressures – in particular delivering power connections – which are causing up to decade-long delays on sites. It will therefore require more than just a favourable planning policy context to bring forward the scale of growth that might be hoped for.
If you would like to talk to us more about this insight piece or related topics, please get in touch.