Proposals for draft National Planning Policy Framework released
Local authorities must have a clear understanding of the housing need in their area, a proposed draft of the National Planning Policy Framework has said.
The Practitioners Advisory Group, made up of housing professionals, has produced a suggested draft of the long-awaited NPPF to lobby the government as it writes the official draft, due in July.
The document suggests local authorities should produce a strategic housing market assessment to establish the need for affordable housing in their area, and work with the business community to identify areas of growth.
It suggests the local authorities should then produce one local plan, rather than the current planning frameworks.
Peter Andrew, director of land and planning at Taylor Wimpey and one of the authors of the suggested plan, said: ‘Meeting the need for new housing remains an urgent priority for the UK. If properly planned, increased levels of development can achieve multiple “wins” – increased economic growth, better access to housing and the means to achieve positive environmental enhancement.’
Stewart Baseley, executive chairman of Home Builders Federation, said: ‘The NPPF will be the most important planning document since the Town and Country Planning Act of 1947 and it is vital that that government gets it right.
‘If Government is serious about tackling our housing crisis, now is the time to prove it. It needs to deliver a planning system that creates real economic growth alongside the homes our country desperately needs.’
