Golden rules for the release of land

The golden rules for the release of land are rules of thumb for development which were proposed by the labour government in 2024 in its proposed changes to the National Planning Poliy Framework (NPPF) for which a consultation was launched on Tuesday, 30 July 2024, and closed 24 September 2024. In the consultation the rules were explained as described below, with around 15 of the 106 questions relating to their proposed approach.

"Government Golden rules to ensure public benefit. The Government has committed to introducing ‘golden rules’ to ensure that major development on land released from the Green Belt benefits both communities and nature. This will build on wider commitment for exemplary design."

"The following golden rules are required where land is released through plans or individual planning decisions:

• in the case of schemes involving the provision of housing, at least 50% affordable housing, with an appropriate proportion being Social Rent, subject to viability;
• necessary improvements to local or national infrastructure, including delivery of new schools, GP surgeries, transport links, care homes and nursery places, to deliver well-designed, connected places, recognising that local leaders are best placed to identify the infrastructure that their communities need; and
• the provision of new, or improvements to existing, local green spaces that are accessible to the public – where residential development is involved, 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 off-site facilities."

Whilst the 3 rules above are clearly set out in in the the Labour Government consultation on changes to the NPPF, they are concerned primarily with the 'what' of development, what is deemed acceptable for the release of land. There are though two other rules (making a total of 5 golden rules) which are concerned with the 'where' of development and essentially form the base of the above rule. In simple terms the first rule states that development should occur on brownfield land first and foremost, secondly it may occur on the grey belt, which has also effectively been redefined by the government in their NPPF consultation, to include poor quality green belt areas.

• Brownfield land must be prioritised for development first, particularly when considering green belt areas. Within the green belt, any brownfield land must be prioritised for development.'
• Grey belt land should then, after brown belt options have been exhausted, be developed upon. Loosely re-defined up until now as “Poor-quality and ugly areas of the green belt should be clearly prioritised over environmentally valuable land in the green belt Poor-quality and ugly areas of the Green Belt should be clearly prioritised over nature-rich, environmentally valuable land in the green belt. At present, beyond the existing brownfield category the system doesn’t differentiate between them. This category will be distinct to brownfield with a wider definition."

For further information regarding the proposed changes to the NPPF see NPPF consultation briefing notes on terms and Consultation on proposed reforms to NPPF and other changes to the planning system.

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