Revised National Planning Policy Framework: Further Planning Reform
House of Commons · Written Statements · 1 Sep 2026 · 1 speech · Official Report
This Government have acted with ambition and urgency to tackle the acute and entrenched housing crisis in England, including by means of a bold overhaul of the planning system. In December 2024, we revised the national planning policy framework, reversing the previous Government’s anti-supply changes; implementing a new standard method aligned to our more ambitious national housing target; and releasing more land into the system through a modernised, strategic approach to green-belt land designation and release. In December 2025, our landmark Planning and Infrastructure Act received Royal Assent, enabling us to speed up and streamline the delivery of new homes and critical infrastructure. Once we have switched on the Act in its entirety, we estimate that this single piece of legislation could boost GDP by up to £7.5 billion over the next decade. In the same month the Act received Royal Assent, the Government launched a consultation on a fuller and more definitive overhaul of the NPPF. The wholly restructured framework that was proposed maintained and built upon the initial revisions we made in December 2024, included a range of new measures to support key economic sectors, and incorporated new clear and rules-based national policies for the making of both plans and decisions. Under the leadership of the new Prime Minister, the Government are more focused than ever on building the homes our country needs and delivering good growth in every postcode. Following extensive...