National Planning Policy Framework, Chapter 12: Making effective use of land (L1–3)
This is Chapter 12 of the National Planning Policy Framework.
Applies to England
The objective of the policies in this chapter of the National Planning Policy Framework is to promote the effective use of land in meeting the need for homes and other uses, while safeguarding and improving the environment and ensuring safe and healthy living conditions.
Plan-making policies
L1: Planning for an effective use of land
1. To support the effective and efficient use of land the development plan should, at the most appropriate level:
a. Identify ways of accommodating as much as possible of the identified need for development in the area on previously developed land, including by:
i. Allocating sites of all sizes which have the potential for redevelopment to secure a more effective use, such as through the reuse of service yards, lock-ups, car parks and other transport infrastructure which are no longer required, the reuse or intensification of underutilised retail and business sites, and estate regeneration schemes;
ii. Setting out where particular parts of the plan area provide scope for intensification through additional development;
iii. Using design guides, design codes and (where appropriate) masterplans to illustrate opportunities for making more effective use of land on sites of different sizes. This includes proposals for the use of allocated sites, as well as common design principles for small sites such as filling gaps in prevailing roof lines, the redevelopment of low-density residential plots, introducing higher buildings at street corners and in other suitable locations, and infill development within residential curtilages;
iv. Setting minimum residential density standards for town centres and for locations that have a high level of connectivity, where this can support more effective land use and extend beyond the minimum requirements of policy L3; and
v. Identifying whether minimum density standards should be set for other parts of the plan area, especially where there are opportunities for intensification. It may be appropriate to set out a range of densities that reflect the identified need for different types of housing, local market conditions, the availability of infrastructure and its scope for improvement, the importance of securing well-designed, attractive and healthy places, and the desirability of maintaining an area’s prevailing character or of promoting regeneration and change.
b. Contain policies and, where appropriate, masterplans to optimise the use of allocated sites through:
i. Setting ambitious but deliverable expectations for the scale and density of development; and
ii. Taking opportunities to secure multiple benefits, such as through mixed-use schemes which provide retail, employment, education and community facilities that help reduce the need to travel, or securing net environmental gains (for example by enabling significant new habitat creation or improving public access to the countryside).
c. Not reallocate land for its previously identified purpose where there is no reasonable expectation that the use will come forward within the plan period, and consider whether allocation for an alternative use is appropriate instead.
2. Mayors and local planning authorities should take a proactive role in identifying and helping to bring forward land that may be suitable for meeting development needs, including suitable sites on brownfield registers or held in public ownership, using the full range of powers available to them. This should include identifying opportunities to facilitate land assembly, supported where necessary by compulsory purchase powers, where this can help to bring more land forward for meeting development needs and/or secure better development outcomes.
3. The extent to which development plans are making as much use as possible of previously developed land and using minimum densities to accommodate their identified development need will be tested robustly when plans are examined.
National decision-making policies
L2: Making effective use of land
1. Substantial weight should be given to the benefits where a development proposal would achieve one or more of the following:
a. Remediating despoiled, degraded, derelict, contaminated or unstable land;
b. Making better use of vacant and underutilised land and buildings (such as: by bringing back into residential use empty homes and other suitable buildings; converting space above shops; redeveloping underutilised retail and business sites; and building on or above service yards, lock-ups, car parks and other transport infrastructure which are no longer required);
c. Making effective use of previously developed land and buildings through temporary uses, in situations where alternative development is anticipated within a reasonable period (including as a result of the land being allocated for an alternative purpose in the development plan); or
d. Creating additional homes or floorspace within settlements by using the airspace above existing residential and commercial premises, or through sensitive redevelopment or additional development within existing plots (including, but not limited to, the addition of mansard roofs, proposals to fill gaps in the existing roof line, the introduction of higher buildings at street corners and additional units within residential curtilages). Such proposals should:
i. Be consistent with the overall street scene, other than where: it is appropriate to have larger buildings (such as at street corners, or where building upwards would not cause substantial harm to the character of a building and its surroundings); the development would not be visible from the street frontage; or where specific changes are provided for through a design code which forms part of the development plan;
ii. Maintain safe access and egress for occupiers and users, and acceptable living standards for residents and neighbours in terms of access to daylight, sunlight, privacy and external amenity space; and
iii. Where the development would involve the use of residential curtilages, not occupy more than twice the footprint of all the existing buildings on the site, and, following development, would retain at least 50% of the non-developed area within the curtilage of the existing buildings[footnote 38]; unless additional development can be accommodated without harm to the overall character of the area, and taking into account the availability of infrastructure and the importance of locating development in sustainable locations (in accordance with policy TR3).
2. A condition of simultaneous development should not be imposed on an application for multiple upward extensions unless there is a clear justification.
L3: Achieving appropriate densities
1. Development proposals should make efficient use of land, taking into account the identified need for different types of housing and other development, local market conditions, the availability of infrastructure (including that supporting sustainable transport modes) and its scope for improvement, a site’s connectivity and the importance of securing well-designed, attractive and healthy places.
2. To contribute to making efficient use of land:
a. Within settlements, development proposals for residential and mixed-use development should contribute to an increase in the density of the area in which they are situated. The only exception is where there is a clear justification that this is either inappropriate or not possible (for example, where the prevailing density is already very high, the nature of the accommodation required precludes higher densities, or where it would conflict with other policies in this Framework). In considering the potential to increase densities, the existing character of an area should be taken into account, in accordance with policy DP3, but should not preclude development which makes the most of an area’s potential;
b. Outside settlements, and on land at the edge of existing built-up areas which is allocated or has permission for development and so will form part of a settlement (as defined in the glossary at Annex B), development footprints should make the best use of a site’s development potential, taking into account the policies in this Framework; and
c. Where development proposals for residential or mixed-use schemes are within reasonable walking distance of a well-connected station (applying the definitions in the glossary at Annex B), a density of at least 35 dwellings per hectare should be achieved within the net developable area of the site. Higher densities – of at least 45 dwellings per hectare – should be achieved where the service frequency is at least twice that of the minimum required for a well-connected station. Exceptions to meeting these minimum standards should be made only in the case of:
i. Sites which fall below the threshold for major development where it can be demonstrated that meeting the standard is either inappropriate or not possible; or
ii. Development for traveller sites.
3. The minimum densities in paragraph 2(c) of this policy should be exceeded where possible, especially in areas of high connectivity, to optimise the efficient use of land. The Connectivity Tool should be used alongside other relevant quantitative or qualitative evidence in assessing the connectivity of particular locations proposed for development.
4. Development proposals that do not make efficient use of land in accordance with paragraph 2 of this policy should be refused.
This is Chapter 12 of the National Planning Policy Framework
Continue to Chapter 13: Protecting Green Belt land (GB1–8).
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Footnotes
38. The existing buildings are to be assessed as the buildings as existing on the date of the publication of this Framework. ↩