National planning policy has been characterised by stop-start reform over several years. This has regrettably resulted in uncertainty among local authorities and across the planning sector. Contrary to the Government’s objective of facilitating plan- making, the short-term effect of its announcement of proposed planning reforms (6 December 2022) has been to halt the progress of local plans in a number of local authority areas.

National planning policy has been characterised by stop-start reform over several years. This has regrettably resulted in uncertainty among local authorities and across the planning sector. Contrary to the Government’s objective of facilitating plan- making, the short-term effect of its announcement of proposed planning reforms (6 December 2022) has been to halt the progress of local plans in a number of local authority areas. Type: conclusion | Number: 1 | Paragraph: 14 | Response status: not_addressed Government response: The Government’s proposed changes to the National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF) were subject to a full public consultation that ran from December 2022 to March 2023. We are continuing to consider the responses to that consultation and intend to respond later in 2023. Historically, we have taken a