‘Planning Nightmare’ to begin on Tuesday

Planning reforms unveiled a year ago have led to an extra 25,000 homes being built and MPs and campaigners are warning that the situation will get worse once the new rules finally come into force this week.

Download a copy of the new National Planning Policy Framework here

Communities across the country are bracing themselves for developers to try to exploit planning reforms and build across swathes of England once the National Planning Policy Framework comes into force just after midnight on Tuesday 26th March.

The news came as Planning Inspectorate, which adjudicates on contentious applications, is warning privately of a “shock” to the system from the reforms, and is taking on more staff to deal with an expected surge in appeals this summer.

Developers are also exploiting a loophole in the new framework which will force councils to make more greenfield sites available for building.

Builders are using the new rule book to force councils to drop uneconomic scrubland areas from five-year housing plans because they were not “viable”, and replace them with more greenfield sites.

By Christopher Hope, Senior Political Correspondent