NALC finalises its response to the National Planning Policy Framework consultation

Our Policy Committee met on 27 February 2026 to finalise our response to the government's consultation on proposed reforms to the National Planning Policy Framework.

The session followed a planning stakeholder roundtable last month. The roundtable brought together representatives from the Better Planning Coalition, the Campaign to Protect Rural England, the Royal Town Planning Institute, planning consultancy O'Neill Homer, and the Society of Local Council Clerks to discuss the implications of the reforms for parish and town councils.

Given the scale and technical scope of the consultation, the committee focused its discussion on the strategic headlines across the six main chapters most relevant to the parish and town council sector. The Policy Committee also emphasised that parish and town councils have a critical role in shaping development that meets local needs while supporting national priorities. 

Our formal response will focus key positions, such as support for the updated National Planning Policy Framework, which introduces several long-overdue correctives to the planning system, recognition of the urgent need to increase housing delivery significantly, support the development of onshore wind and the expansion of solar energy generation and use as part of the transition to net zero, strong backing for neighbourhood planning, which delivered a substantial expansion of community involvement in the planning process and remains central to locally led development, and clear expectation that where reforms make it easier to deliver housing on the edge of the green belt, it must have sufficient local infrastructure to ensure new communities are sustainable and viable.

We will continue to advocate for a planning system that empowers communities, delivers the homes the country needs, and ensures that growth is accompanied by the infrastructure and services required to support thriving places.