National Planning Policy Framework, Chapter 2: Plan-making policies (PM1–17)
This is Chapter 2 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 create a system that is genuinely plan-led, through plan-making authorities[footnote 5] prioritising the preparation and updating of the plans for which they are responsible. The preparation of development plans allows people to influence development in their area, including directing growth to the most appropriate and sustainable locations, mitigating and adapting to climate change, supporting regeneration and conserving and enhancing the quality of the built and natural environment.
1. The required parts of the development plan are:
a. A spatial development strategy, produced by strategic planning authorities and the Mayor of London;
b. A local plan produced by a local planning authority;
c. A minerals and waste plan produced by a minerals and waste planning authority; and
d. A policies map, prepared and maintained by a local planning authority, illustrating policies across all parts of the development plan area.
2. It may additionally include:
a. Supplementary plans, produced by local planning authorities, minerals and waste planning authorities and the Mayor of London; and
b. Neighbourhood plans, produced by parish councils and neighbourhood forums.
3. The different parts of the development plan each have a discrete purpose and are expected to deal positively with particular issues, as set out in the relevant legislation and national policies, including the policies in this Framework.
The plan-making framework
PM1: Spatial development strategies
1. Spatial development strategies should set a positive vision for future growth and change at a sub-regional scale and provide a clear spatial framework for investment and growth, including for new housing. Their content should be genuinely strategic in nature and allow for more detailed issues to be considered and addressed through other parts of the development plan.
2. They should do this by:
a. Setting out a strategy for a sustainable pattern of growth covering a period of at least 25 years, including through the apportionment to local planning authorities in the strategy area of objectively assessed needs for housing and other uses that are best considered at a strategic scale for the duration of the plan period;
b. Identifying broad locations for growth and regeneration, including new settlements, major urban extensions, major cross-boundary development and other key locations with the potential for significant new homes, jobs and other development; such broad locations should extend over any strategic site allocations in adopted[footnote 6] local plans;
c. Supporting economic growth by providing a spatial framework for strategic investments and giving spatial expression to strategic elements of Local Growth Plans and the Industrial Strategy[footnote 7];
d. Identifying the general extent of areas established as Green Belt and broad locations where changes to Green Belt boundaries may need to be considered through local plan preparation, if necessary to meet the development needs of the strategy area;
e. Identifying broad locations for nature conservation and habitat enhancement, restoration and creation; and addressing strategic issues relating to the protection and enhancement of the historic environment;
f. Setting out the type, extent and broad location of strategic infrastructure needed to enable development and serve existing communities, including transport, social infrastructure, waste infrastructure, utilities provision (including renewable and low carbon energy, electricity network, telecommunications and water and wastewater infrastructure) and flood risk management schemes. The spatial development strategy should also make provision for infrastructure that is committed to in the 10 Year Infrastructure Strategy, sectoral spatial plans and any planned strategic infrastructure identified in local transport plans;
g. Using appropriate maps and diagrams to illustrate and communicate the strategy;
h. Providing a proportionate level of information on the mechanisms for delivering the strategy; and
i. Monitoring its implementation, and commencing preparation of a replacement or altered version no later than seven years after the current version was adopted, or earlier:
i. If a strategic planning authority (or, where applicable, the Mayor of London) considers that the spatial development strategy is substantially inconsistent with current national policies; or
ii. Where changes to infrastructure are planned that are likely to have a significant impact on development and land use in the strategy area and which were not considered during the preparation of the existing spatial development strategy; or
iii. To respond to new evidence demonstrating significant changes in housing or other needs, opportunities or development constraints.
3. The Secretary of State has powers to intervene in spatial development strategies, including when a strategic planning authority fails to make adequate progress with plan-making.
PM2: Local plans
1. Local plans should set out a positive vision and spatial strategy which supports the delivery of the spatial development strategy for their area, and should set out specific proposals for accommodating development needs and conserving and improving the environment at a local level. They should do this by:
a. Setting out a vision for the plan area, supported by no more than ten measurable outcomes, which:
i. Articulates how the area should change over the plan period;
ii. Sets aspirational aims and objectives underpinned by a realistic appreciation of what the plan’s policies can genuinely shape and deliver;
iii. Reflects longer term expectations extending beyond the plan period where appropriate, including for any broad locations for growth and regeneration identified in the spatial development strategy, and any specific strategic site proposals; and
iv. Has particular regard to meeting the identified development needs of the area in a sustainable manner in accordance with policy S1.
b. Setting out a spatial strategy, policies for the minimum amount of development to be provided, land allocations[footnote 8] and broad locations for growth, and designations in accordance with policy S2, for a period of no less than 10 years from the point of adoption of the plan. Local plans can cover a longer time period where this would, for example, help support the delivery of longer-term infrastructure or strategic development;
c. Identifying the contributions expected from development towards meeting affordable housing requirements and on-and off-site infrastructure necessary to support delivery of the plan in accordance with policy PM12; and
d. Including other policies, accompanied by concise explanatory text as necessary to aid interpretation, only where these support the delivery of specific allocated sites (to set clear expectations of what is required in terms of layout, infrastructure and design); or where these address particular local issues in accordance with policy PM6.
2. Local plans should be prepared and adopted within 30 months of publishing a Gateway 1 self-assessment[footnote 9].
3. Preparation of the next local plan must be commenced no later than five years after adoption of the current plan[footnote 10], but should be prepared earlier where:
a. An Inspector at examination of the current local plan has made a recommendation to prepare a new plan earlier; or
b. There has been a significant change in local circumstances, including where an area’s housing requirement has significantly increased following the adoption of a spatial development strategy.
4. The Secretary of State has powers to intervene in plans, including when a local planning authority fails to make adequate progress with plan-making.
5. Joint local plans prepared by two or more local planning authorities can be considered where this would enable local planning matters to be dealt with most effectively.
PM3: Minerals and waste plans
1. Minerals and waste plans should set out specific proposals to facilitate a sufficient supply of minerals to meet society’s needs and enable the delivery of sustainable waste management and a circular economy. Their preparation should accord with policy PM2, other than in relation to identifying contributions to affordable housing.
2. Minerals and waste matters can be dealt with in separate plans or combined with local plans where an authority is responsible for all these matters. Minerals and waste planning authorities should consider the most appropriate form for their minerals and waste plan to take.
3. Joint minerals and waste plans prepared by two or more minerals and waste planning authorities can be considered where this would enable matters related to minerals and waste planning to be dealt with most effectively.
PM4: Supplementary plans
1. Supplementary plans may be used by relevant plan-making authorities[footnote 11] to address specific issues, where these are not already covered in other parts of the development plan for the area or the policies in this Framework. They should be limited to:
a. Setting out locally-specific design standards to provide clear design expectations that support the delivery of development; or
b. Situations where a supplementary plan would allow the authority to respond positively and quickly to unanticipated changes in their area, between plan-making cycles, where it is important to put in place policies to shape and direct development for a site or group of sites which the authority considers to be nearby to each other.
2. Supplementary plans should not be used to subvert the role of local plans and minerals and waste plans, including the vision or spatial strategy set out within them. Their preparation should not be used to delay the implementation of sites allocated for development in those plans.
3. Where supplementary plans allocate sites for development, these allocations should be included in the next local plan (or minerals and waste plan) for the area, unless changes in circumstances mean that it is no longer relevant to do so[footnote 12].
PM5: Neighbourhood plans
1. Neighbourhood plans allow local communities to plan positively for their areas by identifying and addressing community priorities that can be met or supported through the planning system. They should do this by:
a. Allocating land to meet the development needs of their designated area, where it is appropriate to do so; and
b. Setting out policies which address particular local issues. These should relate to site-specific matters or, where appropriate, may cover wider issues such as the provision of infrastructure and community facilities, regeneration opportunities, design requirements (including design codes), local environmental improvements and the conservation of local heritage assets.
2. The contents of a neighbourhood plan should not result in less development than specified in other parts of the development plan which cover the same area.
Preparing plans
PM6: General principles for plan-making
1. All plan-makers should, in preparing plans:
a. Only address matters, and include policies, that are necessary and relevant to the plan being prepared, and that avoid unnecessary duplication of other parts of the development plan;
b. Only include policies that extend beyond site or location-specific requirements where these are necessary and where plan-makers consider there is a clear and justified reason for inclusion;
c. Not include policies which duplicate, substantively restate or are inconsistent with the content of national decision-making policies, unless directed by other policies in this Framework;
d. Engage positively with communities and other key stakeholders, at appropriate points during their preparation and using a range of methods, so that relevant issues are identified and addressed as early as possible during the plan-making process;
e. Use environmental assessment to inform the preparation of plans, where legally required[footnote 13];
f. Make use of relevant online tools, methods, and templates published by the Secretary of State, and consider the use of other digital planning software and resources as appropriate to the type of plan being prepared[footnote 14]; and
g. Publish plans in a searchable digital format (e.g. as a text-based webpage), which complies with defined data standards (where applicable), to ensure plans are easily navigable and accessible to different users.
PM7: Initiating plan-making for local plans and minerals and waste plans
1. Prior to initiating the preparation of a local plan or minerals and waste plan, planning authorities should, with reference to national guidance[footnote 15], design an approach to preparing and adopting the plan within 30 months. This should involve:
a. Setting realistic timings for key milestones and reflecting these in the local plan or minerals and waste plan timetable, which thereafter must be updated at prescribed points;
b. Identifying how the plan and associated documents will be signed off expediently and efficiently at appropriate points in its development;
c. Using a project initiation document to develop and collate key information about how the plan will be resourced, managed and consulted on throughout its preparation; and
d. Planning regular engagement with key stakeholders who are likely to be critical to the delivery of the plan.
2. When considering the scope of a local plan or minerals and waste plan, planning authorities should use their four-year plan evaluation report (or other relevant monitoring information, where necessary) to identify and consider what preexisting plan policies and content should be wholly replaced, amended or carried forward without change, though all elements will be subject to consultation and examination.
PM8: Evidence for plan-making
1. All plans should be informed by a baseline understanding of the needs, opportunities, constraints and wider context of the area to which they relate. The preparation of plans should then be shaped and underpinned by information and data that is: relevant to the matters being considered in the plan; proportionate, so that it is focused and not unnecessarily extensive; and drawn from suitable and reliable sources that are sufficiently up-to-date.
2. To achieve this, plan-makers should:
a. Draw upon existing evidence, and update this where appropriate, before preparing or commissioning wholly new evidence (which should be done only where necessary);
b. Consider using relevant evidence produced by other plan-makers, where doing so could avoid duplication and support alignment between plans, local strategies and priorities;
c. Work jointly with neighbouring or other relevant plan-makers to prepare evidence, particularly relating to cross-boundary matters, where joint working could increase resource efficiency and/or support a more strategic approach and improved cooperation; and
d. Not prepare new or additional evidence after a plan has been submitted for examination, unless requested to do so by an appointed Inspector or examiner.
3. Evidence related to development needs should be produced using sufficiently up-to-date information and data. Where evidence on development needs has been established at an early stage of plan preparation, it should not require reviewing and updating unless there are strong reasons to do so.
PM9: Identifying and assessing land for development
1. Development plans should be informed by an assessment of the land available in their area to meet development needs. For spatial development strategies, this can be a strategic level assessment of land availability and development capacity to support the identification of broad locations.
2. For plans that allocate specific sites for development, the assessment should be undertaken with reference to national guidance where applicable[footnote 16], and be proportionate to the type of plan being prepared. The assessment should include:
a. A thorough site identification process to identify a sufficient range and quantity of potential sites;
b. An assessment of the availability, suitability and achievability (including likely viability) of those sites;
c. An assessment of the amount of development those sites have the potential to accommodate and the potential timescales over which development could be delivered[footnote 17]; and
d. The identification of appropriate sites for development, taking into account the emerging vision and spatial strategy of the plan and the information requirements set out in this policy.
PM10: Maintaining cooperation between plan-making authorities
1. Plan-making authorities should engage proactively and regularly with infrastructure providers, neighbouring and other relevant plan-making authorities (where there are strategic interdependencies across boundaries) and other relevant bodies to identify and address cross-boundary matters that need to be addressed in their plans, including:
a. Where additional infrastructure (or additional capacity from existing infrastructure) is needed;
b. Where development needs that cannot be met wholly within a particular plan area could be met elsewhere; and
c. To determine optimal locations for growth, such as in connected places for housing or along major transport corridors for some types of employment (which may necessitate alignment between different strategic planning authorities[footnote 18]).
2. Plan-making authorities should ensure their plan policies align as fully as possible with those of other bodies where there are strategic interdependencies across boundaries, including neighbouring and other relevant nearby plan-making authorities. In doing so they should take into account the relevant infrastructure and investment plans of infrastructure providers and authorities.
3. Where matters are already addressed by an adopted spatial development strategy, plan-making authorities within the strategy area do not need to revisit them when preparing their plans.
4. Where there is uncertainty about the future direction of other parts of the development plan or the plans of infrastructure providers, such as due to misaligned timings, plan-making authorities should make pragmatic decisions on the basis of available information rather than waiting for a full set of evidence from other bodies.
PM11: Demonstrating cooperation between plan-making authorities
1. Plan-making authorities should prepare, maintain and publish one or more statements of common ground to demonstrate that relevant cross-boundary matters have been addressed where possible, including by:
a. Taking a consistent approach to planning the delivery of major infrastructure where this involves one or more neighbouring authorities;
b. Distributing and providing for unmet needs across neighbouring and/or nearby areas; and
c. Planning effectively for cross-boundary growth locations, allocations or designations with significant implications across neighbouring areas.
2. Where it has not been possible to fully address cross-boundary matters, plan-making authorities should demonstrate that they have taken all reasonable steps to address them.
PM12: Developer contributions
1. Development plans should, at the most appropriate level, set out the contributions expected from development to support the delivery of the plan.
2. These policy requirements may apply to different areas covered by the plan. This includes:
a. Plan-wide policies;
b. Site-specific policies; and
c. Policies for different types or location of site or types of development.
3. Policy requirements should:
a. Include the levels and types of affordable housing provision required (with reference to policy HO5), along with other infrastructure required;
b. Be set at a level that allows for the planned types of development and sites to be deliverable, maximising certainty and reducing the need for viability assessment at the decision-making stage; and
c. Be clear so that they can be accurately accounted for in the price paid for land. To provide this certainty, affordable housing requirements should be expressed as a single figure rather than a range.
4. Plans should set out the circumstances in which review mechanisms will be used for development proposals where contributions are proposed to be reduced below the requirements set out in plan policies, in accordance with planning practice guidance. Plans should clearly set out the processes and terms of engagement regarding how and when viability will be reassessed over the lifetime of the development to maximise policy compliance.
PM13: Setting standards
1. Quantitative standards set through development plan policies for infrastructure provision, affordable housing requirements, parking, density, and design and placemaking should provide clarity and a high degree of certainty about the requirements that relevant development proposals are expected to meet. Such standards should:
a. Be justified, drawing upon relevant evidence of local characteristics and needs, while utilising or adapting relevant national standards where it is appropriate to do so (such as in relation to green infrastructure). Evidence in support of standards should be proportionate, in accordance with policy PM8, especially where relevant national standards already exist; and
b. Not cover matters that are already addressed by Building Regulations, other than in relation to:
i. Accessibility standards, for which local standards in relation to requirement M4(2) (accessible and adaptable dwellings) and/or M4(3) (wheelchair user dwellings) of the Building Regulations should be set in accordance with policy HO5; or
ii. Water efficiency, for which it may be appropriate to apply the tighter Building Regulations optional requirement where justified, or exceptionally a more stringent local standard in areas of serious water stress; or
iii. Energy efficiency, for which any standards that go beyond the current or proposed Building Regulations should have a clear and robustly costed rationale which shows that there will not be an adverse impact on the viability and deliverability of development. Any such standards should be expressed as a percentage uplift of a dwelling’s Target Emissions Rate (TER) calculated using a specified version of the Standard Assessment Procedure (SAP) or other approved calculation methodology.
2. Quantitative standards should not cover other matters, or relate solely to the internal layout of buildings, unless:
a. They are to implement the nationally described space standard; or
b. They have a clear and robustly costed rationale, are proportionate and will not have an adverse impact on the viability and deliverability of development.
Examining plans
PM14: Examining spatial development strategies
1. Spatial development strategies are subject to an independent examination[footnote 19] by an examiner appointed by the Secretary of State. The purpose of the examination should be to assess whether relevant procedural requirements have been met, and the strategy is ‘sound’ alongside any other matters the examiner considers to be appropriate. Where the examiner does not consider the spatial development strategy to be sound, the examiner will be able to suggest modifications for the strategic planning authority to consider or recommend that the strategy is withdrawn.
2. A sound spatial development strategy should satisfy the following tests:
a. Positive – the strategy sets out a positive approach to delivering growth which, as a minimum, seeks to meet the area’s objectively assessed needs, and is based on effective joint working on cross-boundary strategic matters. A strategy which does not provide for objectively assessed needs should be considered an exception, and only where it is evidenced that stringent efforts have been taken to meet those needs through cooperation with other strategic planning authorities[footnote 20];
b. Appropriate – the strategy sets out an appropriate strategy to enable the delivery of sustainable development, taking into account reasonable alternatives, the 10 Year Infrastructure Plan, the Industrial Strategy, any relevant Local Growth Plan and other relevant strategies;
c. Effective – the strategy sets out effective policies for development and there is a reasonable prospect that local plans will be capable of identifying site allocations to implement its spatial strategy. Where spatial development strategies anticipate a change in market conditions which the strategy itself is intended to foster, a proportionate approach should be taken in assessing assumptions for the longer term, given the uncertainty which is likely to surround them. Post-adoption monitoring should be undertaken in such circumstances; and
d. Consistent with national policy – the strategy accords with the policies for plan-making in this Framework and other statements of national planning policy, where relevant, and does not include policies which duplicate, substantively restate or are inconsistent with the content of national policies for decision-making.
3. These tests should be applied in a proportionate way. When examining a spatial development strategy there may be limited certainty about the delivery of infrastructure towards the end of the plan period. Where this is the case, it will be sufficient to assess whether reasonable assumptions have been made based on adequate engagement with the relevant infrastructure providers.
PM15: Examining local plans and minerals and waste plans
1. Local plans and minerals and waste plans are subject to an independent examination by an inspector (or panel of inspectors) appointed by the Secretary of State. The purpose of the examination is to assess whether the plan is ‘sound’. A sound plan should satisfy the following tests:
a. Positive – the plan sets out a positive approach to delivering growth to meet the development needs of the area in accordance with policy S1, and is based on effective joint working on cross-boundary strategic matters;
b. Appropriate – the plan sets out an appropriate strategy to enable the delivery of sustainable development, taking into account reasonable alternatives, and is based on proportionate evidence;
c. Effective – the plan sets out effective policies for development, and there is a reasonable prospect that its site allocations are capable of being deliverable at the time envisioned;
d. Consistent with national policy – the plan accords with the policies for plan-making in this Framework and other statements of national planning policy where relevant, and does not include policies which duplicate, substantively restate or are inconsistent with the content of national policies for decision-making; and
e. Conformity – the plan is in general conformity with any adopted spatial development strategy for the area[footnote 21].
2. The tests of soundness should be applied in a proportionate way, taking into account the type and purpose of policy being considered.
PM16: Examining supplementary plans
1. Supplementary plans are subject to a streamlined preparation, consultation and examination process. The purpose of the examination of supplementary plans is to determine whether:
a. The relevant legal requirements have been met including, where a supplementary plan allocates multiple sites, that the local authority has reached a reasonable conclusion that the sites involved are nearby to each other; and
b. The relevant plan-making authority has had regard to national policies and guidance issued by the Secretary of State, which includes policy PM6(1)(c) in this Framework that development plans should not include policies which duplicate, substantively restate or are inconsistent with the content of national policies for decision-making.
PM17: Examining neighbourhood plans
1. Neighbourhood plans must meet certain ‘basic conditions’ and other legal requirements before they can come into force. These are tested through an independent examination before the neighbourhood plan may proceed to referendum.
2. The basic conditions include consideration of whether, having regard to national policies and advice contained in guidance issued by the Secretary of State (which includes policy PM6(1)(c) in this Framework that development plans should not include policies which duplicate, substantively restate or are inconsistent with the content of national policies for decision-making), it is appropriate for the neighbourhood plan to be ‘made’.
This is Chapter 2 of the National Planning Policy Framework
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Footnotes
5. For the purposes of the policies in this chapter, plan-making authorities are defined as: strategic planning authorities; The Mayor of London; minerals and waste planning authorities; and local planning authorities. ‘Plan-makers’ includes all plan-making authorities and any other body with the power to make a plan that will form part of the statutory development plan. ↩
6. Reference to the ‘adoption’ of a plan in this chapter also applies to where a plan has been ‘approved’ by the Secretary of State. ↩
7. The UK’s Modern Industrial Strategy published in: Industrial Strategy. ↩
8. Allocations should identify any site-specific expectations and requirements, including for on-and off-site infrastructure, and should include: a site reference, name and area; a short description of existing and allocated use(s); an indicative or specific site capacity for the development proposed; and the projected delivery timeframe. ↩
9. Further information on the role of gateways in the preparation of local plans is published in: Create or update a local plan using the new system. ↩
10. Preparation of a new plan begins for these purposes when the authority publishes a Gateway 1 self-assessment summary. ↩
11. Local planning authorities, minerals and waste planning authorities and the Mayor of London. ↩
12. To ensure the process of including relevant policies from supplementary plans in the next local plan (or minerals and waste plan) is effective, local authorities should, when preparing supplementary plans, have regard to the requirements and expectations set out for the local plans and minerals and waste plans preparation process. ↩
13. Neighbourhood plans may require Strategic Environmental Assessment, but only where there are potentially significant environmental effects. ↩
14. For further details see: Create or update a local plan using the new system and the Planning Data Platform. ↩
15. Relevant tools and templates are published in: Create or update a local plan using the new system. ↩
16. Relevant tools and templates are published in: Create or update a local plan using the new system. ↩
17. Taking into account the policies in this Framework, associated infrastructure requirements and their potential to be addressed, and the impact of any relevant environmental plans or strategies (including Environmental Delivery Plans). ↩
18. This also applies to the Mayor of London. ↩
19. Unless otherwise directed by the Secretary of State. ↩
20. This also applies to the Mayor of London. ↩
21. Conformity with an emerging spatial development strategy should also be taken into consideration. The extent to which conformity with an emerging strategy should be considered will depend on the stage of preparation of the emerging strategy and whether or not there is an existing strategy relating to the area. ↩