NPPF Select Committee Report - By Snapdragon Consulting

I am delighted to provide an excellent summary of this week's Select Committee Report on the NPPF prepared by Rebekah Paczek, MD of Snapdragon Consulting, with whom I have had the great privilege to work of late. Nice one Beks.

Quote of the Day:

"The Green Belt is a Labour initiative and we intend to build on it."

John Prescott (when he was Deputy PM)

So, just to add a bit of excitement to the already high tempo world that is planning policy, the Communities and Local Government Select Committee today published the results of their Inquiry into the NPPF.  Never one to change a headline simply because it doesn't actually fit the story, the early copies of the Daily Telegraph declared 'MPs call for planning reforms to be scrapped'… Having hurriedly reread the document to make sure I wasn’t reading the Hollywood-ending style NPPF investigation, I can confirm that the Telegraph is indeed being a little cavalier with the interpretation of the report, as it was with the embargo which it merrily broke at about 9pm…

The report opens with a statement that most witnesses seemed contact with the concept and approach of the NPPF, most agreed that reforms were needed and there was no need to rewrite the NPPF as a whole (thought that was worth putting in as, although it isn't as headline grabbing as the  'MPs demand a full rewrite of this hideous document and, whilst you're at it, can you also sort out Europe and make sure that I can still afford to go to my second home in the Cotswolds which really shouldn't have any new development around' kind of headline is, it is more accurate…)

The Committee Report does strongly recommend some changes, most of which were anticipated but some others less so.

So, what are the headlines from the Committee Report?

• The over-riding concern of the Committee is that it is too weighted towards economic growth and places other considerations too far down the list.  The brevity of the report is highlighted as not having brought greater clarity but instead caused confusion, which it says can be addressed without turning the NPPF into an excessively long document.
• Potential for an increased risk of expanded Local Plans being developed as a means of plugging the gap left by a concise NPPF
• Potential for planning to be slowed down rather than sped up and a culture of 'planning by appeal'
• A recommendation that the default 'yes' should be removed to prevent decisions on sustainability being undermined.
• A recommendation that the five principles of sustainable development from the 2005 strategy should be reinstated – the Committee emphasises the need to seek to achieve all aspects of sustainable development, not simply trade one for the other (I suspect that can be interpreted as 'just because it delivers economic growth doesn't mean it's acceptable if it isn't sustainable on any other level)  Linked to this, the Committee are keen to see better protection for environmental sustainability, including the reinsertion of brownfield first and the ability for local authorities to prioritise brownfield land more firmly when identifying land supplies.
• The Committee also recommends that the NPPF should 'unambiguously reflect the statutory supremacy of the Local Plan' with the presumption in favour of sustainable development only relevant if consistent with the Local Plan. (Obviously, this is dependent on local authorities actually having a Local Plan which is up to date, relevant etc).
• As expected, there is a recommendation to re-include the Town Centre First principle, with a provision to allow communities 'in exceptional circumstances' to adopt an absolute protection of a town centre from out-of-town development. (Not quite sure what determines 'exceptional circumstances' and how this absolute protection would be implemented, but it's interesting anyway…)
• The Committee expresses concern over a potential lack of consistency regarding the Duty to Co-operate and the evidence bases which are used for Local Plans.  Linked to this, the Committee questions just how adequate existing resources are to cope with this.
• Finally, the Report recommends a further, short, consultation on the technical aspects of the NPPF.

In summary, whilst there are recommendations for change and certainly recommendations for work to be done in terms of definitions of sustainable development, clarification and rebalancing the importance of economic growth against other considerations, the Committee is not seeking a fundamental rewrite.  Much of what is in the report has been discussed at length both through official channels within Government and informally across the industry – from all sides – for the months since the NPPF was first published.  Irrespective of your view on the NPPF and planning policy in general, the NPPF has certainly been subject to extensive consultation and debate.  

Regardless of any level of excitement over precisely what the Select Committee put forward, the more important thing is what the Government subsequently do with it.  Governments over the years have been adept at proving the theory of black holes, whereby something of substance enters into and then, through some distortion of the time/space continuum (consultation, elections, economic circumstances, pique…) is never seen again in any recognisable form.  

In this case, the Government have already made some noises regarding the reinstatement of Town Centre First, Brownfield First and also clarification on the Definition of Sustainable Development.  However, so far, Government has been resistant to undertaking further consultation on the basis that people have already made their views clear and it is unlikely to achieve anything.  Furthermore, given that the Localism Bill is already an Act, Government will be keen to get the NPPF ratified so that the two documents can work in tandem (??!) which is, allegedly, the intention.

And finally, a quote to finish it off:

"Early in life, I had noticed, that no event is ever correctly reported in a newspaper"

George Orwell

Have a fabulous Christmas and a Happy New Year.  Snapdragon will be back in 2012 in new offices and with more staff, we look forward to more excitement in the world of planning and politics…

Many thanks Beks and very best wishes for Christmas and the New Year to you all.