Decoding the new NPPF consultation draft: key takeaways from December 2025’s proposed planning policy reforms
On 16 December, the Government published a consultation draft of the revised National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF). As a framework, the NPPF sets out national policies that guide how local plans are made and how planning decisions must be taken across England. Rather than offering minor policy tweaks and updates, this draft proposes a significant restructuring of the NPPF to move rules-based policies centre stage to increase certainty and clarity in the planning system.
The proposed changes and accompanying list of consultation questions are extensive. This article provides a brief overview of some of the main changes proposed and outline the proposed direction of travel under the draft text.
Structural re-organisation and the introduction of NDMPs
The draft NPPF is restructured into two main components:
- Plan-making policies, and
- National decision-making policies (NDMPs).
NDMPs are proposed to be nationally set planning policies intended to provide a consistent baseline for planning decisions across the country. Their introduction may bring some potentially significant consequences:
- Local plans which conflict with NDMPs will carry “very limited weight” (meaning that such local plans will be treated as having very little influence on decision-making) once the revised NPPF is effective – thus clarifying the hierarchy between local and national policy.
- Local planning authorities are discouraged from replicating, substantively restating or modifying NDMPs in their local plans – potentially limiting the scope for NDMPs to be tailored at the local policy level.
There are uncertainties around interpretation (e.g. how will inconsistencies and tensions between NDMPs and existing local plans be reconciled/ addressed?) and transitional consequences (e.g. what does this mean for local plans which are already in the process of production and adoption at the time the revised NPPF takes effect?). Subject to consultation responses, we would expect – or hope – to see these wrinkles ironed out in the finalised and updated NPPF.
Sustainable Development: From tilted balance to permanent presumption
The current NPPF contains a presumption in favour of sustainable development, which for decision-taking means that a planning permission should normally be granted if it accords with an up‑to‑date development plan, and where the plan is absent or out of date, permission should be granted unless the adverse impacts of the development would significantly and demonstrably outweigh the benefits.
The draft text updates this long- “presumption in favour of sustainable development” and its tilted balance test and transforms it into a permanent “presumption in favour of suitably located development”, which is focused on location-based needs and spatial strategies. The Government has explained that they “want to make clear what forms of development are acceptable in principle in different locations as part of creating a more rules-based approach to development”. In effect, a rules-based approach would direct development to the most appropriate location..
Substantial weight is to be given to the benefits of supporting business growth in particular sectors, including “AI Growth Zones”, logistics, town centres, and agriculture and rural development.
Housing Delivery, SMEs and the Green Belt
The delivery of housing has been central to this Government’s agenda, and the policies in the NPPF seeking to support this in a number of ways:
Higher-density development near transport hubs
New policies in the draft text promote higher-density residential development at 50 dwellings per hectare near “well-connected” railway stations which are located outside settlements and including land located within the Green Belt (subject to minimum service levels).
There are also proposals to support higher density development in other sustainable locations (at a minimum density of 40 dwellings per hectare) including through the redevelopment of corner and low density plots, upwards extensions and infill development, including within residential curtilages.
SME-led delivery on medium sites
Explicit support is proposed for SME developers to bring forward medium-sized sites of between 1 – 2.5 hectares in recognition of the role of these developers to diversify housing supply. Further support for rural social and affordable housing and clearer expectations for accessible housing is proposed with a view to further diversifying the housing mix.
While not a part of the proposed NPPF text itself, within the published wider set of consultations is a proposal to introduce a “medium development” site category of between 10-49 homes. It is envisaged that this size site would benefit from reduced regulatory and policy requirements.
Green and Grey Belt Flexibility
A more permissive approach to releasing Green Belt land to promote housing delivery is proposed.
The draft proposes allowing local planning authorities to take a strategic approach in identifying areas of Green Belt that would be best suited to accommodate sustainable development, in recognition of that not all Green Belt land contributes equally towards the Green Belt purposes.
Grey Belt land (previously developed land within the Green Belt or land that does not strongly contribute to certain of the Green Belt purposes) as introduced in the December 2024 revision of the NPPF is now formally defined and embedded within the proposed wording. The Green Belt purpose of “safeguarding the countryside from encroachment” has been excluded which may increase the number of sites which now qualify as within Grey Belt land.
Sites within Grey Belt land that comply with the Golden Rules (also introduced in December 2024) no longer have to demonstrate that they meet the “very special circumstances” test and where the benefits (e.g. housing development, infrastructure, regeneration) are compelling – providing a clearer scope for development on these sites.
CONCLUSION
The consultation runs until 10 March 2026 with a copy of the draft text and accompanying consultation questions available on MCHLG’s website
While a proposed simplification and streamlining of the planning system may be welcomed, the full implications of the policies in the draft NPPF will depend on how residual uncertainties and ambiguities are resolved in the final version. The consultation period therefore provides a crucial opportunity for practitioners, authorities and developers to weigh in and shape the final framework. We expect that the draft NPPF text will be approved without further major changes, and so the consultation period also provides an important moment of inflection and preparation for developers to consider whether forthcoming proposals align with the new approach.
