New National Development Management Policies (NDMPs) are set to be non-statutory, the government has revealed.

They were legislated for in the 2023 Levelling Up and Regeneration Act (LURA) to set out policy on those considerations that appear regularly in planning decisions.

Crucially, under the legislation, they would carry greater weight where there is a conflict with the Local Plan in development management decisions.

After several delays to consultation, Housing Secretary Steve Reed has now said that the government  will bring forward a proposed range of NDMPs on a ‘non-statutory’ basis alongside an updated National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF) before Christmas.

Our Planning Director Adam Bennett says: “This means that they will be toothless and fail to carry through at all on the provisions set out within the LURA, which were set to enable the NDMPs to override Local Development Plan policies where there was a conflict between them.

“They will still be a ‘material consideration’ but being non-statutory they are ‘just guidance’ and will therefore struggle to be given any meaningful weight in decision making where Local Plans will continue to take precedence.

“Ultimately, this is very disappointing watering down again from the Government. “

The Housing Secretary made the revelation before the housing, communities and local government (HCLG) committee on November 11, according to Planning Resource.

He is due to give more details over the coming weeks. We will keep you updated about what he says about NDMPs and the NPPF.