New NPPF: we say blame the broken housebuilding market for lack of homes

‘Building on England’s 1.2 million shovel-ready brownfield sites would do far more to unlock growth, regenerate communities and provide genuinely affordable new homes’

After a consultation earlier in the year, the government has published a revised National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF). We think the changes put the countryside at needless risk, though there are some positives on affordable housing in the longer term.

Commenting on the new NPPF, Roger Mortlock, CEO at CPRE, the countryside charity, said: “The broken housebuilding market is to blame for the painfully slow delivery of much-needed new homes. When big housebuilders deliberately limit the supply of new homes to maximise their profits, supercharging the current system will not lead to the change the government is looking for.

“The government’s plans risk a huge hike in the number of unaffordable, car-dependent homes. Building on England’s 1.2 million shovel-ready brownfield sites would do far more to unlock growth, regenerate communities and provide sustainable, genuinely affordable new homes.

“We welcome the commitment to Local Plans and affordable homes. However, local authorities responsible for delivering new homes will be swamped with speculative applications on high-quality Green Belt and farmland. Inevitably, many of these will be approved to meet nationally imposed targets.

“The ‘grey belt’ policy needs to be much more clearly defined and exclude working farms. It will undermine the Green Belt, one of this country’s most successful spatial protections with huge potential to help address the climate and nature emergencies.

“There’s some hope ahead with plans for a strategy that covers all our use of land. Longer-term commitments to build genuinely affordable and better-designed homes are welcome, too. Until then, our countryside will remain needlessly under threat.”

• As we brace for another wave of planning reforms, check out our CEO Roger Mortlock’s opinion piece, which talks through what the changes could mean and why we need to rethink how we use our land

• Learn more about what the NPPF is and why it’s so important here