NPPF GB8: The Golden Rules

GB8: The Golden Rules 1. Where major development involving the provision of housing is proposed on land released from the Green Belt through plan preparation or review, or on sites in the Green Belt subject to a planning application, all of the following contributions (‘Golden Rules’) should be made43: a. Affordable housing which reflects either: i. Development plan policy requirements for major development on land within or released from the Green Belt (as established under policy HO5(1)(a)(ii)); or ii. Until such policies are in place, a contribution which is 15 percentage points above the highest existing affordable housing requirement which would otherwise apply to Which, in the case of applications involving the provision of housing, means the lack of a five year supply of deliverable housing sites, including the relevant buffer where applicable, or where the Housing Delivery Test result was below 75% of the housing requirement over the previous three years; and in the case of traveller sites means the relevant local planning authority cannot demonstrate a five year supply of deliverable traveller sites. In the case of development proposals involving the provision of traveller sites, particular reference should instead be made to policy HO12. The Golden Rules do not apply to: (a) developments brought forward on land released from the Green Belt through plans adopted prior to December 2024; (b) developments that were granted planning permission on Green Belt land prior to December 2024; or (c) Traveller sites. 64 the development, subject to a cap of a 50%44. In the absence of a preexisting requirement for affordable housing, a 50% affordable housing contribution should apply by default. b. Necessary improvements to local or national infrastructure; and c. The provision of new green space, or improvements to existing green space, which is accessible to the public. New residents should be able to access good quality green spaces within a short walk of their homes, whether through on-site provision or through access to offsite spaces. This provision should: i. Make a positive contribution to the landscape setting of the development; ii. Support nature recovery; and iii. Meet local standards for green space provision where these exist in the development plan. Where no locally-specific standards exist, development proposals should meet national standards relevant to the development (these include Natural England’s standards on accessible green space and urban greening factor and Green Flag criteria). Where land has been identified as having potential for habitat creation or nature recovery within Local Nature Recovery Strategies, proposals should contribute towards these outcomes. 2. In considering applications for major development involving the provision of housing on land released from the Green Belt through plan preparation or review, or on sites in the Green Belt subject to a planning application, substantial weight should be given to the importance of complying with the Golden Rules. 3. There are three circumstances in which a viability assessment demonstrating that it would not be possible for a development to comply with the Golden Rules may be submitted as part of a development proposal. These circumstances are where the development proposal is: a. On previously developed land and demonstrably burdened by costs associated with that previous development which were not taken into account in the viability assessment that informed the development plan; b. For a strategic site; or c. For a development which is of a wholly different type to that considered in the viability assessment that informed the development plan. 4. Where the circumstances in paragraph 3 of this policy apply, development proposals should still make the maximum possible contribution to affordable housing and other infrastructure requirements. Development proposals which provide contributions significantly below those set out at (1)(a)(i) or (a)(ii) of this policy will only be acceptable in exceptional cases where fully evidenced and justified. The 50% cap does not apply to rural exception sites or community-led development exception sites, or if the local planning authority has a relevant existing policy which would apply to the development which exceeds 50%. 65 14. Achieving well-designed places The objective of the policies in this chapter is to promote high quality, healthy, inclusive and sustainable places, through setting clear expectations about design outcomes and the use of relevant tools and processes. Plan-making policies