After months of anticipation, the revised National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF) was published yesterday, taking effect immediately for planning applications across England. It's the most significant overhaul of national policy in over a decade, and promisingly, on first read it largely follows the direction of travel laid out in last year's consultation draft.

At its core, this is a document about standardising and streamlining the system for immediate decision making and future plan making. Most notably there is a more explicit presumption in favour of development in sustainable locations (within and outside of settlements), particularly for residential proposals near well-connected stations, and continued support for Green Belt release through the increasingly trodden Grey Belt/Golden Rules path. To name but a few other highlights there is a helpful definition of strategic sites, with specific policy provisions beginning to acknowledge their complexity and long-term timescales, and clear policy for how applications should be proactively determined.

For Summix and our land promotion strategy across strategic land and urban assets, the publication of the NPPF provides welcome clarity, particularly in the context of the upcoming implementation of wider reforms including Local Government Reorganisation, Spatial Development Strategies, the National Scheme of Delegation and so forth. In time this should give greater confidence to those in the land promotion sphere, including local authorities and communities, helping to unlock land in the right locations to support the delivery of much needed housing across the country.

Whilst there's hopefully more policy measures to come from a demand side perspective, where questions of viability and delivery will continue to shape outcomes alongside planning reform, a settled and supportive NPPF is a positive and constructive foundation for the period ahead.