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The Ministry of Housing, Communities & Local Government is seeking views on how national planning policy might be revised to increase construction of new housing.

Most of its proposals have been made public already, including a presumption in favour of planning permission for housing near railway stations and high rise residential blocks in urban areas.

Other proposals respond to industry lobbying, such as the previous government鈥檚 requirements for developers to deliver biodiversity net gain (BNG) will be made simpler for SME builders, it is proposed. Smaller sites would be exempt from the BNG rules.

It is also proposing to widen the Building Safety Levy exemption threshold from sites of 10 homes (or 30 bed spaces for purpose-built student accommodation) or fewer to 50 homes / 120 bed spaces.

There are also some surprises in the 123-page consultation document. Having blocked a proposed amendment to the Planning & Infrastructure that would have mandated a 鈥榮wift brick鈥� to accommodate nesting swifts in every new house, the government is now proposing their incorporation in the planning framework.

Housing secretary Steve Reed said: 鈥淩ight now we see a planning system that still isn鈥檛 working well enough. A system saying 鈥榥o鈥� more often than it says 鈥榶es鈥� and that favours obstructing instead of building. It has real-world consequences for those aspiring to own a home of their own and those hoping to escape so-called temporary accommodation 鈥� we owe it to the people of this country to do everything within our power to build the homes they deserve.

鈥淲e鈥檝e already laid the groundwork to get Britain building but our planning overhaul was only the first step to fix the housing crisis we face. And today I鈥檓 going further than ever before to hit 1.5 million homes and place the key to homeownership into the hands of thousands more hardworking people and families.鈥�

Separately, in a letter to stakeholders, Reed said that the National Planning Policy Framework would remain guidance rather than law.

He said: 鈥淭he government鈥檚 intention is to maintain the current non-statutory nature of national planning policy, rather than use the provisions in the Levelling Up and Regeneration Act 2023 to designate statutory decision-making policies. Our view is that the risks of disruption to the planning system outweigh the potential benefits, especially given the significant weight afforded to planning policy. We will, however, keep this decision under review should our changes not achieve the expected effect.鈥�

The consultation document, titled聽, poses 225 questions. The consultation periodruns until 10^th March 2026 but initial industry response has been largely positive.

Federation of Master Builders (FMB) chief executive Brian Berry said: "The nation's small housebuilders need to regain a foothold in the housing market, and the government planning reforms are a positive push in the right direction to enable this to happen. For medium planning sites the reforms will help SMEs grow their businesses. Getting to the ambitious 1.5 million new homes target will require a joint push from the entire housing sector to achieve it and diversification of the housing market will be essential to ensure this happens.

"While the announced improvements help, smaller developers need well-staffed and dynamic planning teams, achieved through a boost in staff numbers or the use of innovative technology to support the process. Technical changes to planning will only ever go so far before funding becomes the main barrier which stalls sign offs. This is something the Treasury needs to understand and inject more cash to overcome a crumbling planning system."

British Property Federation director Danny Pinder said: 鈥淚t鈥檚 good to see the previously announced proposals make it into the draft National Planning Policy Framework. It鈥檚 particularly welcome to see explicit recognition of the need to plan for older people鈥檚 housing, following on from similar recognition of the valuable contribution that Build-to-Rent homes could make to housing supply in last year鈥檚 NPPF revisions. Housing completions have fallen off a cliff this year so measures that increase planning certainty and support a wider range of entrants into the market 鈥� whether SMEs or later living providers 鈥� have to be a good thing.

鈥淗owever, the decision to make national development management policies a non-statutory element of a revised NPPF could undermine that same certainty, and we will need to examine the consultation carefully to assess the potential impact on new development.鈥�

Royal Town Planning Institute (RTPI) head of policy and public affairs Robbie Calvert said: 鈥淭his is a significant and far-reaching reset of the planning system. These proposals go well beyond technical amendments and would fundamentally change how planning policy is structured and applied. It is vital that these changes are informed by the experience of planners working on the ground. To help shape our consultation response, we will be engaging with members across England to gather views and professional insight, ensuring our response is robust, evidence-based and reflective of our membership.

鈥淗owever, we regret that a consultation of this significance is to be undertaken through the holiday period. It's important to the RTPI that we maintain the well-being of our members and the industry and give them well-deserved downtime. It's also critical that such a significant consultation be given full and comprehensive scrutiny.鈥�

Dan Mitchell, planning partner at planning, design and development consultancy Marrons, said: 鈥淲e welcome the public consultation on the revised version of NPPF and the government鈥檚 commitment to speed up plan-making in 2026. The Christmas announcements are the latest in a long line of adjustments to the planning system in 2025, with the government pulling every lever it reasonably can to get the planning system delivering much-needed new homes.

鈥淔or the first time, the draft NPPF introduces greater clarity between plan-making and decision-making policies. The strengthening of the presumption in favour of sustainable development is of particular importance and will give greater confidence to our clients in bringing forward their schemes in the New Year.

鈥淲e also welcome the emphasis on even greater speed in the plan-making process. Local plans take years to prepare and are regularly delayed by missing evidence or more minor aspects of planning 鈥� adding hours into local plan examinations and delaying sites from being allocated for much-needed development.

鈥淭he latest changes, including the recently announced removal of the duty to co-operate, appear to fix the stages of plan-making and could go some way to streamlining the process overall. The consultation also introduces changes to the way housing need is calculated, with potential greater growth allocated to parts of the Midlands and the North.

鈥淭he new NPPF and accompanying updates to the plan-making guidance simplify the steps councils must go through. It represents a continued trend to centralise the planning system in a top-down pattern to growth 鈥� leaving local authorities the freedom to choose sites locally.

鈥淭he changes also come at a point where the government has committed more funding into local planning departments and the Planning Inspectorate. There鈥檚 a clear strategy from the government to have universal plan coverage in place. It鈥檚 an unambiguous statement from the government to the development industry in 2026, that states: 鈥楻ight 鈥� we have unlocked the planning system. Over to you now to deliver鈥�.鈥�

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