A New Year has started to ring in new changes to the planning system with the Government trying to steer developers and property investors toward specific opportunities for new housing and commercial development. Changes to planning policy, local government practice and decision-making at the local level have also been introduced, aiming to streamline planning decisions and remove some of the current obstacles.

This month’s article provides a brief round-up of the principal changes afoot in the new NPPF 2025 (currently in draft), the Planning and Infrastructure Act 2025 (which became law on 18th December 2025) and further reforms due to be subject to consultation in early 2026.

The focus on settlement-based planning
In the existing NPPF 2024, the presumption in favour of sustainable development is based on an assessment of housing delivery numbers in each Council area and their success over the last three years in meeting these targets, with lesser emphasis on the location of development (NPPF 2024, paragraph 11). This is referred to as the “tilted balance” mechanism.

In the new draft NPPF, published in December 2025, the presumption is expressed with greater focus on a set of policies dependent principally on whether a site is based with a defined settlement or not.

Within settlements, the starting point is approval unless benefits are substantially outweighed by adverse impacts, subject to specified refusal circumstances.

Outside settlements, the draft adopts a categorised approach. Certain types of development or locational circumstances are placed on a clearer approval pathway, while proposals that do not fit those routes face a materially higher hurdle.