The National Planning Policy Framework 2012 sets out the Government's planning policies for England in achieving sustainable development and how these are expected to be applied. It sets out the requirements for the planning system only to the extent that it is relevant, proportionate and necessary to do so. It provides a framework within which local people and their accountable councils can produce their own distinctive local and neighbourhood plans, which reflect the needs and priorities of their communities. This Framework does not contain specific policies for nationally significant projects for which particular considerations apply. Divided into thirteen chapters, with three annexes, it looks at the following areas, including: building a competitive economy; ensuring town centre vitality; supporting a high quality communications infrastructure; delivering high quality homes; protecting the Green Belt; meeting the challenges of climate change, flooding and coastal change; conserving the natural and historic environments and facilitating the sustainable use of minerals.

Interpreting the NPPF: the New National Planning Policy Framework aims to explain the revised NPPF to planners, developers and legal advisers throughout England. The book seeks to summarise the most important case law interpreting the previous NPPF, so far as is relevant to the new version. It provides an explanation of the legal status and nature of national planning policy law, as well as consideration of how the new NPPF should be interpreted. --from back cover.

This report recommends that a default answer of 'yes' to development should be removed from the National Planning Policy Framework (NPFF). The phrase 'significantly and demonstrably' must also be removed from the presumption that all planning applications should be approved unless the adverse effects 'significantly and demonstrably' outweigh the benefits, because it adds a further barrier to the achievement of truly sustainable development. The definition of 'sustainable development' is inadequate and often conflated with 'sustainable economic growth'. The framework gives the impression that greater emphasis should be given in planning decisions to economic growth, undermining the equally important environmental and social elements of the planning system. The NPPF should require local planning decisions to be taken in accordance with the presumption in favour of sustainable development consistent with Local Plans. It is unacceptable that so many parts of England have yet to develop and adopt a new Local Plan. Clarity within the NPPF has suffered in the pursuit of brevity. Inconsistent drafting could create gaps in planning policy or guidance that could lead to a huge expansion in the size of Local Plans - as local authorities attempt to plug those gaps. The test for 'viability', as currently worded, risks allowing unsustainable developments to go ahead if measures to make them sustainable are deemed to make them unviable for the developer. MPs also call for a sensible transition period to give local authorities time to put Local Plans in place where they have not already done so.

The Committee invited submissions on how the National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF) has worked in practice since it came into operation in April 2012. The evidence to this inquiry has highlighted a number of emerging concerns: that the NPPF is not preventing unsustainable development in some places; that inappropriate housing is being imposed upon some communities as a result of speculative planning applications; and that town centres are being given insufficient protection against the threat of out of town development. These issues do not, however, point to the need to tear up or withdrawn the NPPF; rather they suggest a need to reinforce its provisions and ensure it does the job it was intended to do.

Sustainable development in the National Planning Policy Framework : Oral and written evidence, Wednesday 12 October 2011, Neil Sinden, Campaign to Protect Rural England, Peter Nixon, National Trust, Dr Hugh Ellis, Town and Country Planning Association, Na

Planning Law and Practice is a clear, comprehensive and up-to-date guide to Town and Country Planning Law providing an overview of the planning system and the latest policy and legislative changes including the impact of the National Planning Policy Framework. The book summarises the core legal principles applicable to each stage of the planning process and is divided into six chapters covering the following main topics: - Planning in England and Wales: an overview of the planning system, its organisation and purpose - Is planning permission required? identifying permitted development, understanding operational development and material change of use, applying for Certificates of Lawfulness for Proposed Use and for Existing Use - Applications for planning permission: understanding Applications for planning permission: understanding the Local Development Plan, development in specially protected areas, the pre-application process, the form and content of applications, retrospective applications - How planning applications are determined: the Local Planning Authority's process from delegated decision-making to Committee decisions, Environmental Impact, Development Plan policies, supplementary planning guidance and material considerations, Planning Obligations (Community Infrastructure Levy and Unilateral Undertakings), Personal circumstances and private interests - The grant of planning permission: duration and effect of planning permissions, conditions and how they operate, how public rights of way affect grants of planning permission, the need for listed building consent, planning permission and interference with private rights (nuisance) - When planning permission is refused: When and how to appeal to the Secretary of State, the written representation procedure, Hearings, preparation for and appearance at Public Inquiries, the role of community groups, hearing and inquiry costs and how to avoid them, subsequent appeals to the High Court Planning Law and Practice will provide the non-specialist practitioner with a reliable and comprehensive map for navigating the planning system. It seeks to highlight the main issues and potential pitfalls, giving up- to- date case commentary where useful. This book will be invaluable for solicitors, barristers, legal executives, local government legal officers and planning officers.