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McCarthy & Stone welcomes the draft National Planning Policy Framework

McCarthy & Stone has today (Wednesday 27 July) welcomed the publication of DCLG’s draft National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF).  The document, which seeks to condense national planning guidance into a single 50-page framework, was published for consultation on Monday 25 July.  

Responding to the draft NPPF, Gary Day, Land and Planning Director for McCarthy & Stone, said:  

'The draft NPPF is an impressive document and we congratulate the Government on condensing planning guidance that was previously longer than the complete works of Shakespeare into a single, well-written framework.  This is the most important publication for planning in a generation and a hugely significant milestone.

“We welcome the Government’s attempts to promote economic growth through positive reform of the development planning system and to address the country’s chronic housing shortage. We specifically support the Government’s call, in its definition of ‘sustainable development’, for the planning system to deliver an increased supply of housing to meet the needs of present and future generations.  We welcome the requirement in paragraphs 28 and 111  for local planning authorities to assess and plan for the local needs of all types of housing across all tenures in their communities, including housing for older people.  One of our main concerns over recent years has been the lack of detailed assessments undertaken by local authorities of the growing housing needs of the ageing population, particularly in the private sector, and we are pleased to see this requirement included in the framework.

“We have worked closely with the Department of Communities and Local Government over recent months and look forward to continuing our dialogue to ensure the final NPPF does all it can to support the wide ranging housing needs of older people.”

For more information, please contact Paul Teverson on 01202 508096 or This email address is being protected from spam bots, you need Javascript enabled to view it

To read McCarthy & Stone's briefing paper on the NPPF, please click here.