Recommendation 24

It is regrettable that the Government has still not provided sufficient detail on the content of National Development Management Policies (NDMPs) for stakeholders to fully understand the impact they will have on the planning system. While NDMPs may make the plan-making process more efficient for local authorities, they will also result in local plans being overridden by national policy in some cases. This is contrary to the Government’s stated commitment to a plan-led system. Under the current wording of the Levelling-up and Regeneration Bill, the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities will be able to override local plans unilaterally, potentially with no parliamentary oversight.