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ARTICLE · 10 SEPTEMBER 2026

NPPF 2026: What It Means For SME Developers

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The new National Planning Policy Framework represents the most significant overhaul of England's planning system in a generation, introducing a pro-growth agenda that fundamentally reshapes how development proposals are assessed. From enhanced presumptions in favour of development to new rules for station-proximate sites and grey belt land, these changes create both opportunities and challenges for developers navigating the approval process.

United KingdomReal Estate and Construction
Rosalyn Trotman
Rosalyn Trotman

The new National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF), the biggest update to planning policy in a generation, is a gamechanger for the development sector - delivering a pro-growth agenda designed to boost housing and promote development around train stations and brownfield sites.

Ros Trotman, Partner in our Planning and Environment team, highlights five key changes SME developers should know about.

The supremacy of national policy

The new NPPF is a brave new world, rewriting England's planning system with a shiny new set of plan-making policies and national decision-making policies (NDMPs).The NDMPs carry the status of a material consideration of critical importance. Where an existing local plan policy is materially inconsistent, that plan now carries only very limited weight.

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