No5 Barristers Chambers Annual Planning Seminar 2025: Recap
- Alyssa Birum
- Apr 7
- 3 min read
On 24th March, I had the pleasure of attending the Annual Planning Seminar in Birmingham, alongside two colleagues. The event, hosted by No5 Barristers' Chambers, featured a series of insightful presentations covering a range of hot topics — from recent changes to the National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF) and updates to Planning Practice Guidance (PPG), to key developments in planning case law.
In this blog, I will share some of the key takeaways from the day.
New Framework for Growth & Housing Case Law
The updated NPPF was released December 2024 (with minor amendments on February 2025) and focuses on the major economic growth required, the new housing target and responding to environmental challenges.
The Government has announced its clear objective to deliver 1.5 million homes by July 2029 by ensuring an uplift in planning permissions granted. A strong focus on the 5YHLS has been identified and permissions granted in areas where there is a severe deficit. Although an ambitious goal, recent case law has highlighted the substantial weight that is given to the housing land supply.
The housing target is also well-aligned with the economic growth objective through the creation of jobs, new employment areas, training and expansion within the construction sector etc.
With the introduction of new development goals, providing innovative solutions to address environmental challenges has never been more crucial. The NPPF underscores this by introducing additional requirements for Biodiversity Net Gain (BNG) and technical standards related to flood risk and Sustainable Drainage Systems (SuDS).
Green Belt and Grey Belt
Chapter 13 of the NPPF has introduced several changes with regard to Green Belt including the introduction of Grey Belt and the Golden Rules. The Golden Rules focus on delivering affordable housing (at least 50%) within the Green Belt alongside necessary improvements to infrastructure and public green spaces.
Grey Belt land is Green Belt land which does not strongly contribute to any of the Green Belt purposes (a), (b) and (d). The PPG on Grey Belt was released February 2025 and provides further details on the definitions of Green Belt purposes. Furthermore, it highlights that Green Belt purposes focus on towns and specifically not villages (where gaps between villages and development outside of village boundaries should be identified within Neighbourhood Plans). Local Planning Authority’s (LPAs) should provide updated Green Belt Studies reflecting on Green Belt purposes.
As the introduction of Grey Belt was done under the Labour Government, it is important to submit Grey Belt applications as soon as possible – a change in government may lead to the removal of Grey Belt from the framework.
Devolution and Decision-Making
The Government seeks to devolve power and money from central government and distribute it to local leaders and Mayors who can make the right decisions for their communities. Structural changes will include combining Authorities and the election of a regional Mayor.
Examples of this include the combination of the previously 4 districts of Buckinghamshire into the singular regional Authority. Additionally, a proposal has been made to combine the Vale of White Horse District Council, South Oxfordshire District Council and West Berkshire into one single council.
Nature and Development
The mandatory BNG requirement is 10% - Local Plans are unable to set a policy requirement for more than the 10% unless it has been justified and evidenced in accordance with the PPG on BNG.
The High Court Case of NRS Saredon Aggregates Limited v Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities and Worcester County Council [2023] reviewed the Inspector’s dismissal of a quarry in the Green Belt which provided 39% BNG. The Inspector afforded only moderate weight to the level of BNG as some of the net gain achieved is required by national policy and future legislative requirements. However, the judicial review quashed the decision due to the Inspector’s mistaken view of the requirements of the forthcoming legislation.
Vistry Homes Ltd v Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Communities and Local Government [2024] recognises that the attribution of positive weight is not confine to the proportion of BNG which exceeds 10%.
The problem of nutrient neutrality is estimated to hold up the delivery of 160,000 houses in this country. There is no quick fix in providing development that has a neutral impact on nutrient levels and either the restoration of affected Protection Site or changes to the legislative framework of the Habitats Regulations will be required.
It is well-known that planning is always changing with new legislation or even a new appeal decision. I value the opportunity to attend CPD events not only for the valuable insights of the presentations but the opportunities to discuss these topics with other professionals within the planning sector – over a delicious lunch, which makes it even better!
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