Party says the draft National Planning Policy Framework has thrown the system into ‘chaos’

Labour shadow ministers have backed calls for the government to delay the implementation of planning reforms designed to introduce a presumption in favour of development in to the planning system.

In addition, the party has called for a raft of changes to the draft National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF) , which it says has thrown the planning system into “chaos.”

Shadow housing minister Alison Seabeck said: “We need to have a transition period so that local authorities have time to get their plans in place, in order to avoid a rush of inappropriate development on green fields.”

The proposed presumption in favour of sustainable development will kick in only when local plans are silent, indeterminate or out of date. However, varied estimates say anything between 70% and 95% of plans fit this definition leading to the call to give councils time to update their plans.

Seabeck said that the Labour party opposed the NPPF because of its failure to stress that development should occur first on brownfield land and its additional failure to stress the need for on-site affordable housing.

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