Wiltshire Council to hold webinar on proposed changes to the National Planning Policy Framework

Thursday, 8 August 2024 06:05

Wiltshire Council is holding a webinar on Wednesday, 14th August, for people to find out more about the Government’s proposed changes to the National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF) and how to respond to the consultation.

The webinar will take place from 6-7pm and will feature a presentation on the main proposed changes and how to respond to the Government’s consultation, followed by question-and-answer session.

Cllr Richard Clewer, Leader of Wiltshire Council, said: “We know that many people will want to find out more about the Government’s plans to make changes to the NPPF, so we’re hosting a webinar that will enable them to find out more.

“If the changes progress in the form that they are proposed, it would mean a significant increase in the number of homes that have to be built, with an 81% increase in housing targets in Wiltshire.

“The changes also propose the abolition of the four-year Housing Land Supply introduced by the previous Government, reverting back to a five-year Housing Land Supply, which may affect our ability to refuse inappropriate speculative housing applications.

“I’d urge anyone with an interest in the future of planning developments in our county to sign up for our webinar to find out more and respond to the consultation.”

The proposed changes will introduce a new standard method for assessing housing needs and will make this figure mandatory to ensure Local Plans are ambitious enough to support the Government’s plan to deliver 1.5 million new homes this parliament.

They will also promote more development on brownfield land, with the expectation that such developments will be acceptable in principle.

The Government’s consultation will close at 11.45 pm on Tuesday, 24 September 2024.

To sign up for the webinar, people should go to https://surveys.wiltshire.gov.uk/s/NPPF_changes