Columnist

What new NPPF rules mean for landowners

The new National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF) is more than just a minor adjustment. 

In my experience, it represents a fundamental rewrite of the rules on site valuation. 

Throughout my career advising on development viability, I have seen many shifts, but these changes mean the old playbooks for negotiating planning obligations have effectively been rendered obsolete. 

If you are involved in land or development, I believe you now have a narrow window to adapt your strategy before these rules harden into local practice.

The new rules: viability is now “baked in”

Development viability is the headline change. 

Where a scheme complies with up-to-date plan policy on contributions, it “should be assumed to be viable” - full stop.

The burden has shifted: a developer wanting to pay less than the policy figure must now prove in the planning process one of a short list of trigger conditions:

• A materially different development type;
• Different site characteristics;
• Unforeseen costs; or
• A genuine economic shock such as a recession.

Crucially, the oldest argument in the book has been ruled out. 

Neither the price paid for land/building, nor an option price can justify falling short of policy.

Any viability assessment that is submitted must trace back to the plan’s own viability evidence, disclose its assumptions publicly, and follow Planning Practice Guidance, with the decision-maker still free to weigh how much credit to give it.

The strategic pivot: focus on the plan-making stage

Developer contributions is where the real strategy sits. 

The Government wants viability settled once, at plan-making stage, not renegotiated on every application.

Local plans must fix affordable housing and infrastructure requirements as a single figure, not a range, specifically so the obligation can be “accurately accounted for in the price paid for land/building.”

Thus, contributions are meant to depress the price a developer offers for a site, not erode the planning obligations or conditions after the site has changed hands.

This now applies to sites of any size and means the circumstances in which contributions can later be reassessed are now purely a plan-making matter.

This requires land/building owners to be actively involved in the consultation at the plan making stage where the long-term future for the site, building or area is decided by the local council.

Green belt and unresolved arithmetic

This policy applies also to other matters, including green belt affordable housing and providing affordable homes.

A generally higher affordable housing requirement, at least 50 per cent, will be required for major development on Green Belt land, but with viability retained as the escape if that would render the site unviable.

Providing affordable homes requires on-site delivery in the normal case, and separately offers a built-in viability offset: the vacant building credit, which proportionately reduces the affordable housing contribution due where a scheme reuses an existing building.

The one thing that hasn't been settled is the arithmetic. 

The Government has dropped its proposal to lock standardised viability inputs into a formal NPPF annex, citing the need for further testing with LPAs, developers and surveyors.

Those figures, including developers' return, stay in PPG, to be updated “as soon as possible”.

While the structure for capturing development gain is now firmly plan-led, the actual numbers that determine how much gain gets captured remain, for now, unresolved.

The three-party negotiation: a new complexity

The new framework transforms the planning process into a continuous, three-way negotiation between landowners, developers, and the local authority - starting at the Local Plan stage and continuing right through to site delivery.

Local authorities are under immediate pressure to fix affordable housing and infrastructure requirements during the Local Plan phase. 

This creates a fundamental tension: councils must set these figures early, often before the full, site-specific details or viability challenges are truly known.

Gone are the days when viability negotiations could be safely deferred to the planning application stage. 

If you aren't engaged during the Local Plan formulation, your site’s viability is effectively being decided without your input.

When a specific scheme is later proposed, the Local Plan’s requirements will serve as the non-negotiable baseline. 

Challenging them will be a high-stakes battle, where success depends on rigid proof of ‘unforeseen circumstances’. 

To stay ahead of the curve, detailed site investigation and viability analysis must move forward: these assessments, once left until the application stage, are now essential inputs for the Local Plan itself.

Why partner with JK Property Consultants?

Navigating this new planning landscape isn’t a desk exercise; it requires a deep, proven understanding of how policy translates to real-world outcomes.

I don’t just interpret the rules – I helped write them. 

As the former chair of the RICS expert group responsible for the industry’s guidance on land agreements, I understand exactly how option, promotion, and conditional contracts must be structured to survive the new plan-led viability testing.

My approach is built on years of sitting on every side of the negotiation table - representing landowners, developers, and planning authorities. 

This experience allows me to:

• Anticipate the arguments: I know which viability claims will survive scrutiny and which are merely opening gambits.
• Negotiate from strength: I can advise on the numbers, manage the direct negotiations, and build the evidence base needed to secure your position.
• Resolve disputes: If negotiations stall, I step in as an expert witness, independent arbitrator, or mediator to break the deadlock.

 Whether you are a landowner, developer, or planning authority, my goal is the same: ensuring that value is accurately assessed and that the final agreement reflects the true potential of the site, not just an arbitrary policy figure.

Don’t leave your site’s value to chance. Ensure your strategy is built on the expertise that sets the industry standards.

Kevan Carrick is co-founder and owner of JK Property Consultants LLP. He is a member of the RICS Land & Natural Resources Professional Group Panel that consulted on the National Planning Policy Framework, and is chair of the North East Business and Innovation Centre.

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