NPPF (August 2026)
NPPF 2026 explained for landowners and developers
The August 2026 National Planning Policy Framework replaced the December 2024 Framework and renumbered every policy. This is what changed, which policy code now carries each test, and how it changes the assessment of a site.
What the August 2026 Framework is
National Planning Policy Framework — plan-making and national decision-making policies (August 2026) was published in August 2026 and replaced the NPPF (December 2024). It is a structural rewrite as well as a policy update: policy is cited by lettered code within numbered chapters rather than by paragraph number, and much of the operative detail on housing supply, Green Belt assessment and flood risk now sits in Annexes A to F.
Every appraisal, score and report on this platform is assessed against this version, and each conclusion names the policy code it derives from so it can be checked against the published Framework.
The changes that move land values
Four changes account for most of the practical difference on strategic land:
- Presumption in favour of sustainable development — now policy S3, applied within settlements by S4 and outside them by S5, with the balance recast around whether benefits are substantially outweighed by adverse impacts.
- Grey belt — defined in the Annex B glossary, with the development route at policy GB7(1)(g) and the assessment method in Annex E.
- The Golden Rules — policy GB8, requiring affordable housing 15 percentage points above the highest otherwise applicable requirement where no up-to-date policy applies, plus necessary infrastructure and accessible green space.
- Station density — policy L3 sets minimum density expectations within about 800m of a station, from around 35 dwellings per hectare, rising to around 45 dph where services are frequent.
How we apply it
Site appraisals run through a policy-coded assessment: the presumption position from the authority's housing land supply and Housing Delivery Test figures, the Green Belt and grey belt tests, the constraint set read live from the national planning data platform, and the station accessibility position.
Where evidence has not been obtained the item is reported as requiring confirmation and scored neutrally. Figures are never assumed — an absent dataset record means “not recorded”, not “not present”.
NPPF 2026 guides
NPPF 2026: what changed and what it means for land
A plain-English summary of the National Planning Policy Framework published in August 2026: the new policy-code structure, the S3 presumption, Green Belt and grey belt policy, the Golden Rules and the station density tests.
11 min readNPPF 2026 policy codes: where the old paragraphs went
A lookup for the August 2026 NPPF policy-code structure: what each chapter letter means, which policy replaced the familiar paragraph references, and how to cite the Framework correctly.
8 min readThe Golden Rules under NPPF 2026 (policy GB8)
What policy GB8 of the August 2026 NPPF requires on Green Belt and grey belt land: affordable housing at 15 percentage points above the applicable requirement, infrastructure improvements and accessible green space.
8 min readWell-connected stations and density under NPPF 2026
How the August 2026 NPPF treats land near stations: the reasonable walking distance, the minimum density expectations in policy L3, the well-connected test, and what it means for land selection.
9 min read
Free checks built on the 2026 policy codes
- Planning potential checker — indicative site screening and score.
- Grey belt checker — Annex B definition and GB2 purposes.
- Green Belt land checker — whether land is recorded as Green Belt.
- Planning constraints checker — heritage, flood, ecology and landscape records.
- Scoring methodology — the 100-point model and its policy weighting.
Common questions
- What is the NPPF 2026?
- The NPPF (August 2026) is the National Planning Policy Framework covering plan-making and national decision-making policies, published in August 2026. It replaced the NPPF (December 2024) and restructured the Framework so policy is cited by lettered policy code rather than paragraph number.
- What replaced paragraph 11 of the NPPF?
- The presumption in favour of sustainable development is now policy S3, applied within settlements by S4 and outside settlements by S5.
- What do the Golden Rules require under NPPF 2026?
- Policy GB8 requires affordable housing at the level set by an up-to-date plan policy, or 15 percentage points above the highest otherwise applicable requirement where no such policy exists, together with necessary infrastructure improvements and accessible green space.
- How does NPPF 2026 treat land near railway stations?
- Policy L3 sets minimum density expectations for land within a reasonable walking distance of a station — around 800m, or roughly 10 minutes' walk — with a higher minimum where the station is well connected and services are frequent.
- Does an appraisal written under the December 2024 NPPF still stand?
- It needs review rather than renumbering. The policy codes, the wording of the presumption balance, the grey belt definition and the Golden Rules requirement have all changed, so the reasoning has to be re-run against the August 2026 text.
Written from the published National Planning Policy Framework (August 2026). General information about national policy, not planning or legal advice on a specific site.
This assessment is an automated planning intelligence report based on available public data. It does not constitute planning, legal, valuation or other professional advice and does not guarantee that planning permission will be granted.