Out-Law / Your Daily Need-To-Know

Supreme Court grants permission for appeal in housing supply policy definition case

21 Jul 2016, 4:03 pm

The Supreme Court has granted permission for two councils to appeal a decision that confirmed that the definition of "relevant policies for the supply of housing" in paragraph 49 of the National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF) should be interpreted widely.

The Court of Appeal ruled in March that the definition, which governs which development plan policies should be considered "out of date" in areas without a five year supply of housing sites, is not restricted to policies which lay out where homes should be built.

Appeal judge Lord Justice Lindblom said "the concept extends to plan policies whose effect is to influence the supply of housing land by restricting the locations where new housing may be developed – including, for example, policies for the green belt, policies for the general protection of the countryside, policies for conserving the landscape of Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty and National Parks, policies for the conservation of wildlife or cultural heritage, and various policies whose purpose is to protect the local environment in one way or another by preventing or limited development".

The Court of Appeal also confirmed in the judgment that it is for the decision maker to decide how much weight to give to "out of date" planning policies in the individual circumstances of a case. The judgment said that this was "not dictated by government policy in the NPPF" and was not a matter that could be "fixed by the court".

Should the Supreme Court appeal go ahead, it will be the first time that the NPPF has been considered by the UK's highest court.

Planning expert Sarah Chapman of Pinsent Masons, the law firm behind Out-Law.com, said: "Prior to the Court of Appeal decision, different approaches had been taken in the Planning Court to the scope of 'relevant policies for the supply of housing'. Whilst the decision in March provided much needed clarity on the interpretation of paragraph 49 of the NPPF, the wide interpretation advocated has not yet been applied in any appeals."

"It will be interesting to see if the Supreme Court supports the Court of Appeal’s view," said Chapman. "However, the crucial test will be how the local planning authorities and the communities secretary ultimately apply this case’s final outcome in their decision making."