Ridge's planning, architecture and sustainability experts respond to the government's updated planning framework.
The revised National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF) marks a shift in how housing, infrastructure and climate resilience are expected to come together. Four Ridge experts share their views on what the changes mean in practice: from faster decision making and better-connected sites, to the risks of building at pace without a clear vision for place. Here’s their take on where the opportunities lie, and where the challenges remain.
Mark Dewhurst, Manchester Office Managing Partner
“For cities like Manchester, the debate is moving away from whether we should build more homes, to where and how we build them.
We’re already seeing how major regeneration projects are bringing housing together with transport and placemaking, and at a scale that would have been difficult to imagine even a decade ago – as shown by our work on Victoria North.
The revised framework reinforces this direction of travel. Rather than treating all stations the same, it draws an even clearer link between how connected a place is and how much development it can support.”
The new government is effectively recognising that the most sustainable locations for large-scale development are in the best-connected locations, where housing and infrastructure can be planned together from the start.”
Mark Dewhurst
Manchester Office Managing Partner
“The priority now is to make sure that new homes are matched by investment in energy networks, public space, schools and other community infrastructure. This is what will ensure that they become successful neighbourhoods in their own right, rather than simply helping to meet housing targets.”
James Smith, Associate Partner in Town and Country Planning
“Beyond the headline housing policies, one of the most significant aspects retained within the revised framework is the attempt to tackle delays within the planning system. Developers can adapt to policy change, as we’ve seen in many forms in recent years, but prolonged uncertainty once an application has been submitted delays investment decisions and slows delivery.”
The new expectation – that decisions should not be held up indefinitely while waiting for unnecessary technical responses – has the potential to shift the balance back towards timely decision-making.”
James Smith
Associate Partner in Town and Country Planning
“If applied consistently, it could help tackle one of the most important but least visible causes of delay in bringing forward new homes and infrastructure.
Many of the framework’s ambitions rely on housing, transport, utilities and social infrastructure being planned in a more integrated way. To meet those ambitions, all of those disciplines will need to come together at the earliest stages of development, allowing issues to be identified and resolved before they become barriers to delivery.”
Kat Adair, Associate Partner in Sustainability
“From a climate resilience perspective, the revised NPPF signals a clear shift from simply reducing emissions to ensuring that new development is capable of adapting to a changing climate.”
While energy efficiency and carbon reduction remain important, there is greater recognition that buildings and places must also be designed to withstand increasing temperatures, more frequent heatwaves, water scarcity, flooding and extreme weather events. ”
Kat Adair
Associate Partner in Sustainability
“In practice, this is likely to drive a stronger focus on passive design measures, overheating mitigation, sustainable drainage, urban greening, water efficiency and site-specific climate risk assessments at the earliest stages of project development.
For developers and design teams, climate resilience is now becoming a fundamental planning consideration rather than a standalone sustainability enhancement, requiring schemes to demonstrate not only how they will reduce carbon emissions, but how they will remain safe, comfortable and operational throughout their design life in a changing climate.”
Martyn Few, Partner in Architecture
“Lots of people are talking about the opportunities that denser development could bring, but fewer are talking about the risks that come with it, or how we can minimise them.
The combination of minimum density requirements around transport hubs and faster plan-making is likely to create pressure to build quickly. This in turn could lead to greater reliance on standard house types and off-the-shelf development models for delivering them, reducing architectural diversity and limiting design innovation.
The challenge we need to meet is how to accommodate more homes while also creating attractive places where people want to live.”
Density works best when it is supported by a clear long-term vision, high-quality streets and public spaces, and a clear understanding of local character. Without this, the risk is that everywhere starts to look the same.”
Martyn Few
Partner in Architecture
“The way to avoid this is to put even greater emphasis on the decisions made before individual buildings are designed, especially on how people get around, how they access public services, and what mix of uses can best support people to meet their everyday needs.
If we get these fundamentals right, density can support places to work for people, but also become distinctive and well-loved. If we get them wrong, no amount of design detail can fully make up for it.”
Let’s talk
You can contact Mark at markdewhurst@ridge.co.uk, James on jamessmith@ridge.co.uk, Kat on katadair@ridge.co.uk,and Martyn on martynfew@ridge.co.uk.
