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Updated NPPF ‘should strengthen commitment to affordable housing’
The government must strengthen its commitment to affordable housing in new planning guidance due to be launched next month, planning and local government bodies have said.
Ministers and officials have been working on an updated National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF), which sets out the government’s planning policies and is intended to act as the starting point for councils to draw up their local plans. It is expected to be published some time before 1 April.
The Town and Country Planning Association (TCPA) and the Association for Public Service Evidence (APSE) said the new guidance should amend the definition of “affordable” housing and make changes to viability testing.
The pair carried out a survey which found 60% of councils said viability assessments had hindered their ability to secure affordable housing.
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Introduced as part of the NPPF in 2012, viability assessments allow developers to limit their contributions to infrastructure and affordable housing by demonstrating that to do so would not guarantee them “competitive returns”.
“There is no doubt that the current planning framework has deprioritised vital policy on affordable housing, climate change, good design and social equity, each of which are essential for building quality places,” said Kate Henderson, chief executive of the TCPA.
“The publication of the updated NPPF is a key opportunity for the government to set a new direction for planning, starting with rebalancing the viability test so councils can secure the affordable housing their communities need.”
Paul O’Brien, chief executive of the APSE, said: “Alongside financial freedoms, councils need a planning system that enables them to deliver more genuinely affordable homes.
“The government should ensure that the definition of affordable homes set out in the new NPPF is based on a measure of income and not pegged to an arbitrary proportion of market price.”
