New Planning Framework Operating in England

It provides the rules and criteria for local planning authorities to create up-to-date local and neighbourhood development plans.

The framework is proposed to centres around a presumption in favour of sustainable development, balancing long-term public interest across three objectives:

• Economic Objective: Ensuring sufficient land is available in the right places at the right time to support business growth, innovation, and jobs.
• Social Objective: Supporting strong communities by meeting local housing needs and fostering safe, well-designed public spaces.
• Environmental Objective: Mitigating climate change, protecting the natural and historic environment, and minimizing pollution.

More specifically, for rural businesses, the new NPPF has been updated to:

• Provide more support for farm diversification
  The new NPPF supports the sustainable growth, diversification and modernisation of agricultural businesses, including farm shops, livestock facilities, reservoirs, polytunnels, greenhouses and seasonal worker accommodation.
• Farm modernisation gets substantial planning weight
  Councils must give substantial weight to the benefits of farm modernisation, domestic food production, animal welfare and environmental improvements when deciding planning applications.
• Development outside settlements is more acceptable
  Agricultural, horticultural, forestry and rural-business developments—including tourism—are now to be approved unless their adverse effects substantially outweigh the benefits. This is more permissive than the 2024 NPPF.
• Greater protection for productive farmland
  The new NPPF introduces a stronger policy direction to steer development away from “Best and Most Versatile (BMV)” agricultural land where poorer-quality land is available. Food security is given greater importance.
• Reservoirs and water infrastructure are strongly supported
  New reservoirs and agricultural schemes designed to increase water-supply capacity now carry significant weight.
• Grey Belt rules have been simplified
  The tests for identifying Grey Belt land have been simplified. Grey belt is land in the green belt that does not (on certain levels) assist the green belt purposes. Housing developments on land shown to be grey belt are more likely to be approved. This could make it easier for suitable land within the Green Belt to be considered for development, particularly housing and strategic development.
• Land near railway stations could become more valuable for development
  Land adjacent to better-served railway stations, as well as land next to villages and towns, has greater potential to be promoted through local plans or planning applications.
• Renewable energy projects get a major boost
  Renewable and low-carbon energy developments are more favourable, and applicants should not generally be required to demonstrate a need for the development. This could benefit landowners with suitable sites for renewable-energy schemes.

It is hoped that these new changes, which are already now in force will assist with the various planning applications made, where the new policy will be relied upon and cited within our planning documents to justify and support farm development, including both new farm buildings for all types of farming structures and types as well as farm diversification projects.

The overall direction is more favourable to rural landowners than the previous NPPF. The new NPPF creates greater opportunities to modernise farms, diversify rural businesses and potentially unlock development land. Please get in touch if you would like to know more about these changes or how these could benefit and strengthen your future planning applications.