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Planning practice guidance
The National Planning Policy Framework and relevant planning practice guidance.
The National Planning Policy Framework was published on 27 March 2012 and revised on 24 July 2018 and sets out the government’s planning policies for England and how these are expected to be applied.
Download the full policy document.
Please complete our short survey on planning practice guidance - we welcome your feedback.
Planning practice guidance will, where necessary, be updated in due course to reflect changes to the National Planning Policy Framework (the new version of which was published in July 2018). Where any hyperlinks direct users to the previous National Planning Policy Framework (2012), please disregard these. If you’d like an email alert when changes are made to planning guidance please subscribe.
Where plans are being prepared under the transitional arrangements set out in Annex 1 to the revised National Planning Policy Framework, the policies in the previous version of the framework published in 2012 will continue to apply, as will any previous guidance which has been superseded since the new framework was published in July 2018.
Planning practice guidance categories
We have revised and updated planning practice guidance to make it accessible.
- Advertisements
- Air quality
- Appeals
- Before submitting an application
- Brownfield land registers
- Build to rent
- Climate change
- Community Infrastructure Levy
- Conserving and enhancing the historic environment
- Consultation and pre-decision matters
- Crown development
- Design
- Determining a planning application
- Ensuring effective enforcement
- Ensuring the vitality of town centres
- Environmental Impact Assessment
- Fees for planning applications
- Flexible options for planning permissions
- Flood risk and coastal change
- Hazardous substances
- Health and wellbeing
- Housing need assessment
- Housing and economic land availability assessment
- Housing: optional technical standards
- Land affected by contamination
- Land stability
- Lawful development certificates
- Light pollution
- Local Plans
- Making an application
- Minerals
- Natural environment
- Neighbourhood planning
- Noise
- Open space, sports and recreation facilities, public rights of way and local green space
- Permission in principle
- Plan-making
- Planning obligations
- Renewable and low carbon energy
- Rural housing
- Self-build and custom housebuilding
- Starter Homes
- Strategic environmental assessment and sustainability appraisal
- Transport evidence bases in plan making and decision taking
- Travel Plans, Transport Assessments and Statements
- Tree Preservation Orders and trees in conservation areas
- Use of planning conditions
- Viability
- Waste
- Water supply, wastewater and water quality
- When is permission required?
Other planning policies
Published 29 November 2016
Last updated 22 October 2018 + show all updates
Last updated 22 October 2018 + show all updates
- Added a link to a user feedback survey
- Added new guidance on 'Build to rent' and 'Plan-making'. Updated guidance on 'Housing need assessment', 'Housing and economic land availability assessment', 'Local Plans' and 'Neighbourhood Planning'.
- Added 'Housing Delivery Test measurement rule book'.
- Added guidance on 'Brownfield land registers' and 'Permission in principle'.
- First published.