Skip to main content

On the reporting of the NPPG

The Telegraph reported this morning that Nick Boles would introduce to the House of Commons today, two years after the NPPF, the accompanying National Planning Practice Guidance (NPPG). Mr Boles is reported as saying that the guidance, 'which will cut 7,000 pages of existing material down to 1,000', shows that 'the Government is acting in areas where the NPPF is not working as it should.'

The NPPG was indeed published alongside an accompanying written ministerial statement on local planning.

On first glance there is nothing within the guidance that fundamentally alters the interpretation or operation of the NPPF from a planning point of view. The list of provisions empathised in Mr Boles’ statement, and the reference in the Telegraph to the NPPF 'not working as it should', are perhaps designed to reassure those concerned that the NPPF represented a ‘relaxing of planning laws’.

The news of the NPPG emerged in the Telegraph (I cannot see it being reported anywhere else) and was reported as a tightening of the NPPF the day after Nigel Evans, MP for Ribble Valley, asked the Prime Minister at PMQs about the planning inspectorate 'over riding the wishes of local people' and 'localism being destroyed' by appeal decisions. Mr Evans was refeing to this case in Barrow, where Ribble Valley Borough Council are making noises about a Judicial Review.

With a general election looming it is easy to imagine a Malcolm Tucker-type figure in Conservative Party HQ endorsing a call for new homes nationally whilst at the same time conveying to MPs and residents an impression that there are further grounds to object to unpopular proposals and plans locally...

Comments

  1. Amita Patel23 November 2025 at 09:58

    Upgrade your facility with a high-performance powder coating line in West Midlands. Efficient, durable, and tailored to industrial needs.

    ReplyDelete
  2. The Mansion Spa1 December 2025 at 07:42

    Relax, refresh, and rejuvenate with an authentic sauna experience in Birmingham, UK. Our saunas are designed to promote deep relaxation, improve circulation, ease muscle tension, and detoxify the body. Whether you’re looking for stress relief after a busy day or a wellness boost for your health, our modern sauna facilities provide the perfect escape.

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Life on the Front Line

I like it when people get in touch with me to suggest topics for 50 Shades of Planning Podcast episodes because, firstly, it means that people are listening to it and also, and most importantly, it means I do not have to come up with ideas myself. I found this message from a team leader at a local authority striking and sobering though. In a subsequent conversation the person that sent this confided in me that their team is virtually in crisis mode. It is probably fair to say that the planning system is in crisis, but then it is also probably fair to say that the planning system is always in crisis… There is, of course, the issue of resources. Whilst according to a Planning magazine survey slightly more LPAs are predicting growth in planning department budgets (25%) rather than a contraction (22%), this has to be seen in the context of a 38% real-terms fall in net current expenditure on planning functions between 2010–11 and 2017–18. Beyond resources though the current crisis feels m...
137 comments
Read more

50 Shades of Planning T-Shirts!

If you have listened to Episode 45 of the 50 Shades of Planning Podcast you will have heard Clive Betts say that... 'In the Netherlands planning is seen as part of the solution. In the UK, too often, planning is seen as part of the problem'. I said in reply that that would look good on a t-shirt so I have made a few and it does! They are available in black or white (in S, M and L sizes) and are £15 if there is a chance that I'll be able to deliver one to you or £20 if you will need it posting. Please email samstafford@hotmail.com if you would like one. Planning might not be black and white, but the 50 Shades t-shirts are...
112 comments
Read more

YIMBYs and NIMBYs. Is planning becoming a new front in the culture war?

Prepare the barricades, fellow planners; dig out a shelter at the bottom of your garden (if you are lucky enough to have a garden…); and stock up on tins of non-perishable food. There might be a culture war coming and a good planner always spots trouble before it arrives... Given broader cultural, media and political trends it was perhaps only a matter of time before the built environment was subject to the same us versus them, progressive versus regressive factionalism that mars other aspects of public policy and debate. Twitter, of course, is not representative of public opinion, but it can be representative of the cultural, media and political influencers that are shaping it and I spotted this image on there recently. As far as I could tell it was a Brit that posted it and so it is not one of those unseemly intellectual skirmishes breezily dismissed as something our crazy, madcap cousins on the other side of the Atlantic occupy themselves with. Stereotypes are sometimes funny and so...
45 comments
Read more