By Laura Potts, MRTPI, Planning Consultant, CAD Architects
At CAD Planning, we keep a close eye on all UK planning developments so we can provide unrivalled advice to our clients.
We have previously reported on the UK government’s plans to streamline planning and cut red tape to speed up housebuilding and economic growth.
In the last week of January 2025, the UK government has stated that it plans to accelerate planning reform in 2025. They have stressed their commitment to deliver their ‘Plan for Change’ milestones of 1.5 million new homes over five years and 150 decisions on major infrastructure projects by the end of the Parliament.
Last year homebuilding fell below 200,000 and permissions reached their lowest level for over a decade, which is why the government is taking radical action to reverse this trend and deliver 1.5 million homes over this Parliament.
There have already been a significant number of planning decisions made by the government since they came to power in July 2024. This includes 13 planning decisions taken by Ministers, over 90% of which were within the target timeframe, and 9 nationally significant infrastructure projects approved (spanning airports, data centres, solar farms and major housing developments).
The government has committed to making 150 decisions on these major economic infrastructure applications over this Parliament. This will double the number of decisions made in the previous Parliament.
In January 2025, the government revealed their next steps on planning reform, which include:
- Streamlining a set of national policies for decision making to guide planning decisions taken by local authorities and promote housebuilding in key areas.
- A new growth initiative stating that when developers submit an application for acceptable types of schemes in key areas – such as in high potential locations near commuter transport hubs – that the default answer to development is ‘yes’.
- Replacing the current systems of environmental assessment with Environmental Outcome Reports which will be simpler and clearer, saving developers time and money. The government will publish a roadmap for the delivery of these new Environment Outcomes Reports in the coming months.
- The government has confirmed for the first time that the Planning and Infrastructure Bill will be introduced in Spring. A new Working Paper has been published which highlights reducing the burden on developers by making consultation requirements more proportionate, and strengthening statutory guidance.
These new initiatives build on the considerable amount of planning reform which is already underway. What has already been done since the new government came to power in July 2024?
- The National Planning Policy Framework has been overhauled, including new and higher mandatory housebuilding targets for councils, a comprehensive modernisation of the Green Belt, and far greater support for growth-supporting development such as labs and datacentres.
- A New Homes Accelerator group has been launched to unlock thousands of new homes currently in the planning system.
- A series of working papers have been published on further reforms to the planning system.
- ‘Brownfield passports’ have been announced, designed to ensure that where planning proposals meet design and quality standards, the default answer to planning permission is ‘yes’.
- A new approach for developers to discharge environmental obligations through payment into a Nature Restoration Fund.
- A New Towns Taskforce has been set up, as part of a long-term vision to create large scale communities of at least 10,000 new homes each.
- £68 million awarded to 54 local councils to unlock housing on brownfield sites.
- £47 million awarded to seven councils to unlock homes stalled by nutrient neutrality rules.
- The existing Home Building Fund for this year has been extended, providing up to £700 million of vital support to SME housebuilders, supporting the delivery of around 12,000 additional homes.
- It has been confirmed that government investment in housing will increase to £5 billion for this year, including an extra £500 million in new funding for the Affordable Homes Programme to deliver tens of thousands of new affordable and social homes across the country.
As planning reform accelerates, Cornwall Council (in common with councils across the UK) is reviewing and updating its own plans and systems to help deliver the national strategy.
A briefing note published by Cornwall Council in January 2025 states:
“ The Government published a new National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF) on 12th December 2024. This sets out revised guidance and policies for planning across England. A new mandatory standard housing methodology was published alongside the NPPF. This is the method that we must use to understand how many new homes should be built each year in Cornwall. It means that our new housing requirement (from 12th December) will be 4,421 for Cornwall instead of the 2,707 that we have been planning for under the current Local Plan.”
Cornwall Council is currently reviewing their current plans to meet the new housing requirement of 4,421 homes per year. You can read the whole briefing note here.
https://www.cornwall.gov.uk/media/jlzi05rx/briefing-note-for-ndp-groups-nppf.pdf
As planning reform continues to accelerate in 2025, both at national and local level, CAD Planning will continue to stay on top of all the latest developments, providing valuable insights and guidance to our clients.
Please get in touch to discuss what planning reform means for your project. You can contact us on 01872 630040 or email info@cad-planning.co.uk