On 17 August 2026, the new National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF) was published and came into immediate effect for planning decisions. It opens by stating that it is “a material consideration of critical importance” for both decision making and plan making. It also makes clear that development plan policies, or parts of policies, which are materially inconsistent with its national decision-making policies should be given very limited weight, unless they have been examined and adopted against the new NPPF.
It represents the most significant change to national planning policy since the NPPF was first introduced in 2012.
The new NPPF introduces a settlement-based approach to decision-making. Development proposals located within settlements benefit from a presumption in favour of development and should generally be approved unless the benefits of doing so would be substantially outweighed by any adverse effects.
Outside settlements, the new NPPF identifies specific forms of development that should be approved unless the benefits of doing so would be substantially outweighed by any adverse effects when assessed against the national decision-making policies in the NPPF.
The list of supported forms of development is too extensive to set out in full here, but includes development for agriculture, rural businesses, diversification projects and tourism, as well as the reuse of existing buildings.
Proposals that do not fall within the categories identified in the NPPF will generally need to demonstrate exceptional circumstances before planning permission is granted.
For rural businesses, the new NPPF places a strong emphasis on economic growth and recognises the importance of agriculture, leisure, tourism and other land-based businesses.
In particular, it confirms that substantial weight should be given to the benefits for domestic food production, animal welfare and the environment arising from farm and agricultural modernisation.
A dedicated policy on rural business development supports farm diversification, the conversion of existing buildings, well designed new buildings and development intended to maintain and enhance farm viability.
It continues to support new housing on rural exception sites and isolated homes in the countryside where specific policy criteria are met, including agricultural workers’ dwellings where an essential need can be demonstrated. At the same time, strong protection remains for designated landscapes, heritage assets and important environmental sites.
Development that would address an evidenced unmet need is also supported, provided it would be physically well related to an existing settlement and is of a scale that can be accommodated by existing or proposed infrastructure. This includes housing proposals where a local planning authority cannot demonstrate a five-year supply of deliverable housing sites or has delivered less than 75% of its housing requirement through the Housing Delivery Test
Overall, although some aspects of the new NPPF are more measured than the consultation draft, it is a material consideration of critical importance in determining planning applications and has been designed to boost housing delivery and support economic growth. The direction of travel is clear. As local planning authorities and planning inspectors begin to apply the new national decision-making policies, new opportunities may emerge and, in some cases, there may be scope to revisit proposals that were previously discounted or refused.
If you have a new development project in mind or wish to revisit a previous proposal, we are always happy to speak with existing clients and those contacting us for the first time. Please feel free to call us on 01884 212380 or email briandinnis@acornrpc.co.uk for a discussion.
