The government has shared details of its plans to implement changes to the local plan-making system, which will be in force in early 2026.
Regulations to implement the new system, set out in the Levelling-up and Regeneration Act 2023, will be laid out in Parliament ‘shortly’, the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government said, along with regulations to set out the detailed process for the preparation of the new-style plans.
The new regulations will supersede the Town and Country Planning (Local Planning) (England) Regulations 2012. They will also make consequential amendments to other regulations, set out transitional arrangements and the saving provisions to enable plan-makers to finalise plans commenced under the existing legal framework.
“The English planning system is plan-led and the government is committed to achieving universal local plan coverage”, MHCLG said in a statement.
“Reform of the plan-making system is necessary to introduce a faster, clearer and more accessible process for preparing plans.”
Minister for housing and planning Matthew Pennycook (pictured) set out key changes to the regulations in a letter to the chief executive of the planning expectorate, including the removal of the duty to cooperate.
Pennycook wrote:
“As you know, the Duty to Co-operate (“the Duty”) was inserted into the Planning and Compulsory Purchase Act 2004, through the Localism Act 2011, to help bridge the gap in co-operation resulting from the abolition of regional planning. The Duty requires LPAs to “engage constructively, actively and on an ongoing basis” with neighbouring authorities whilst preparing their local plan. However, as noted in your letter of 30 October, the Duty as a legal provision has, at times, been difficult to comply with and has led to some notable local plan failures. This is in part because any shortcomings relating to the Duty cannot lawfully be remedied during examination.”
The regulations will require local planning authorities to begin formal preparation of a new local plan within five years of adopting their previous local plan, as opposed to the gaps of over 10 years that are currently common. A local plan will also be required to contain a vision for the future of the local planning authority’s area, with no more than 10 measurable outcomes. It may also contain aims and objectives of the local planning authority, including how the authority proposes to achieve the vision for the area.
Fergus Charlton, planning partner at national law firm Michelmores, said the updated plans show the government’s determination to push through reforms.
He commented:
“Even before the Planning and Infrastructure Bill receives Royal Assent, the government has signalled its commitment to the central plank of a plan lead system, namely planning decisions made against up-to-date local plans.
“Lack of cooperation with neighbouring authorities has caused inspectors to send many plans back to development, leaving too many out-of-date plans. Government clearly wants to make rapid progress on replacement of this duty with the spatial development planning provisions of the bill.”
MHCLG is encouraging local planning authorities to begin preparing plans as soon as possible, ‘to get an ambitious and up-to-date plan in place’. An explanation of what the regulations will require has been published, along with guidance on preparing a plan under the new system.
A revised version of the National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF) will be published for consultation later this year, with analysis due to be published in summer 2026.
“If you are preparing a plan in the new system, you may have regard to the consultation draft of the NPPF once it is published, to help inform the early stages of preparation of your local plan”, MHCLG said.
MHCLG said it will make at least £14,000,000 available in the financial year 2025 to 2026 to support local authorities with plan-making.
