The Government’s consultation on the draft revised NPPF, which will set the national context for Plan-making and decision-taking, closed on Thursday 10th May. Richborough Estates responded as part of the Land Promoters and Developers Federation (LPDF) and that response can be downloaded here download doc link.
Richborough Estates is committed to fulfilling our role in assisting the Government in tackling the housing crisis and progressing sustainable developments to urgently meet the significant unmet housing needs of the country, as the Government seeks to deliver the 300,000 dwelling per annum target nationally; as such we welcomed the opportunity to engage with this consultation process.
Russell Crow, Planning Director at Richborough Estates and Chair of the LPDF’s Technical and Policy Committee said: “The draft revised NPPF contains a series of opportunities and threats to the Government’s ability to deliver on its housing aspirations. As has been seen over the last 6 years since the publication of the first NPPF in 2012, much depends on the interpretation of the document.
Read positively, the introduction of the Housing Delivery Test, stronger tests of ‘deliverable’ housing sites, quicker Local Plan review cycles and the new standardised methodology for assessing housing needs provide the context for delivering the step change required in housing delivery if we are to genuinely reach the levels required and tackle the housing crisis. However, read negatively, the references to planning for below housing needs, the geographic discrepancies of the standardised housing need methodology, the continued impact of Green Belt in Plan-making and decision-taking, the watering down of the tests of soundness and changes to the assessment of viability represent real threats to the ability of the development industry to assist the Government in boosting housing delivery.
We hope that the Government respond positively to the consultation process, and look forward to the publication NPPF, which we expect to see in July 2018.”