The National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF) consolidates all policy statements, circulars and guidance documents into a single, simpler document reducing the overall size of more than a thousand pages to around fifty. It is the backbone of the entire planning system.
It was originally published by the UK’s Department of Communities and Local Government in March 2012, consolidating over two dozen previously issued documents called Planning Policy Statements (PPS) and Planning Policy Guidance Notes (PPG) for use in England.
A revised NPPF was published by the UK Government’s Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government on 24 July 2018. This is the first revision of the National Planning Policy Framework since 2012. It implements around 85 reforms announced previously through the Housing White Paper, the planning for the right homes in the right places consultation and the draft revised National Planning Policy Framework consultation.
The revised National Planning Policy Framework was updated again on 19 February 2019 and sets out the government’s planning policies for England and how these are expected to be applied. This revised Framework replaces the previous National Planning Policy Framework published in March 2012, and revised in July 2018.
