National Planning Policy Framework - Plan-making and national decision-making policies - August 2026

Sep 22, 2026

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National Planning Policy Framework sets out government policies for plan-making and for making decisions on development proposals in England. It emphasizes a genuinely plan-led planning system where up-to-date development plans and the Framework’s plan-making policies must be considered in preparing any part of the development plan. The document also frames how planning permission applications should be determined in accordance with the development plan, while reflecting material considerations, relevant international obligations, and statutory requirements.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryResearch & Report

FormatPDF

Pages130

Reading Time5 h 28 min

AccessFree to download

Introduction

Plan-making and national decision-making policies

Procedural policies

Plan-making policies (PM1-17)

Decision-making policies (DM1-10)

Sustainable development

Achieving sustainable development (S1-6)

Meeting the challenge of climate change (CC1-3)

Delivering homes and supporting growth

Delivering a sufficient supply of homes (HO1-13)

Building a strong, effective economy (E1-4)

Ensuring the vitality of town centres (TC1-4)

Supporting high quality communications (CO1-2)

Securing clean energy and water (W1-4)

Facilitating the sustainable use of minerals (M1-6)

Creating high quality, sustainable places

Making effective use of land (L1-3)

Protecting Green Belt land (GB1-8)

Achieving well-designed places (DP1-4)

Promoting sustainable transport (TR1-8)

Promoting healthy communities (HC1-8)

Pollution, public protection and security (P1-6)

Conserving and enhancing the environment

Managing flood risk and coastal change (F1-9)

Conserving and enhancing the natural environment (N1-6)

Conserving and enhancing the historic environment (HE1-10)

Annexes

Implementation

Glossary

Information requirements

Housing calculations and supply

Green Belt assessments

Managing flood risk and coastal change

National Planning Policy Framework Plan-making and national decision-making policies August 2026 © Crown copyright 2026 Copyright in the typographical arrangement rests with the Crown. You may reuse this information (not including logos) free of charge in any format or medium, under the terms of the Open Government Licence. To view this licence visit [http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open-government-licence/version/3/](http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open-government-licence/version/3/) This [document/publication is also available on our website at](document/publication is also available on our website at www.gov.uk/mhclg)[ ](document/publication is also available on our website at www.gov.uk/mhclg)[www.gov.uk/mhclg](document/publication is also available on our website at www.gov.uk/mhclg)[ ](document/publication is also available on our website at www.gov.uk/mhclg)[If you have any enquiries regarding this document/publication](If you have any enquiries regarding this document/publication), use our webform or write to us at: Ministry of Housing , Communities and Local Government Fry Building 2 Marsham Street London SW1P 4DF Telephone: 030 3444 0000 For all our latest news and updates follow us on X: [http://x.com/mhclg](http://x.com/mhclg) Contents 1. Introduction ........................................................................................................................3 Procedural policies 2. Plan-making policies ( PM1-17) .......................................................................................6 3. Decision-making policies (DM1-10) ..............................................................................18 Sustainable development 4. Achieving sustainable development (S1-6) ..................................................................23 5. Meeting the challenge of climate change (CC1-3) .......................................................28 Delivering homes and supporting growth 6. Delivering a sufficient supply of homes (HO1-13) ........................................................31 7. Building a strong, effective economy (E1-4) .................................................................40 8. Ensuring the vitality of town centres (TC1-4) ................................................................43 9. Supporting high quality communications (CO1-2) ........................................................46 10. Securing clean energy and water (W1-4) .....................................................................48 11. Facilitating the sustainable use of minerals (M1-6) ......................................................50 Creating high quality, sustainable places 12. Making effective use of land (L1-3) ...............................................................................55 13. Protecting Green Belt land (GB1-8) ..............................................................................59 14. Achieving well-designed places (DP1-4) ......................................................................65 15. Promoting sustainable transport (TR1-8) ......................................................................68 16. Promoting healthy communities (HC1-8) ......................................................................74 17. Pollution, public protection and security (P1-6) ............................................................78 Conserving and enhancing the environment 18. Managing flood risk and coastal change (F1-9) ...........................................................83 19. Conserving and enhancing the natural environment (N1-6) ........................................88 20. Conserving and enhancing the historic environment (HE1-10) ...................................93 Annexes Annex A: Implementation........................................................................................................99 Annex B: Glossary ..............

FAQs

What does the National Planning Policy Framework cover?

It sets out government policies for plan-making and for decision-making on development proposals in England.

Why does the framework stress that planning should be plan-led?

Preparing and maintaining up-to-date development plans is treated as a priority to deliver housing and other development in a sustainable manner.

How are planning permission applications expected to be decided?

Applications should be determined in accordance with the development plan unless material considerations indicate otherwise, with decisions also reflecting relevant international obligations and statutory requirements.

Sep 22, 2026

Upload by Violet