National Planning Policy Changes for Rural Land and Property Owners: New Opportunities
The Government’s revised National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF) published on 17th August 2026, introduces a significant change to how development proposals outside settlements in the countryside will be assessed.
Policy S5, ‘Principle of Development Outside Settlements’, establishes a clear national framework identifying the types of development that should generally be approved unless any adverse impacts substantially outweigh the benefits when assessed against the framework.
For rural land or property owners, this could unlock new opportunities that may previously have faced significant policy barriers:
Development addressing an unmet need
Where development would address an evidenced unmet need, it may be supported outside settlement boundaries providing that it is physically well related to an existing settlement.
This includes residential developments where the Council cannot demonstrate an adequate supply of housing land.
Well connected locations, particularly near railway stations
The Policy creates greater scope for development in accessible rural locations, supporting residential and mixed-use schemes within walking distance of well-connected railway stations. It also offers support for limited infilling within existing groups of houses outside settlement boundaries, potentially providing new opportunities for appropriate development in the countryside.
While also offering support for limited infilling within existing groups of houses outside settlement boundaries.
Redevelopment and re-use opportunities
Policy S5 also supports the redevelopment of previously developed land and the re-use, conversion, extension and replacement of existing buildings, helping bring vacant or underused sites back into productive use.
Wider opportunities
The criteria also supports a broad range of rural uses, including agricultural development, rural businesses, tourism and infrastructure projects, reflecting the Government’s objective of supporting sustainable growth while meeting housing and economic needs.
Perhaps most notably, when considering these updated criteria, is Annex A of the framework, which states that Councils Local Planning Policies should now be given very limited weight where they are materially inconsistent with decision making policies in the new NPPF. This could be particularly significant for sites where restrictive or outdated local planning policies have previously presented a barrier to development. The revised NPPF may therefore provide a fresh opportunity to reconsider the potential of rural land, buildings and previously discounted sites.
If you think your land or property could benefit from these changes, get in touch with the Bloomfields team today for any planning enquiries at www.bloomfieldsltd.co.uk or call us on 01892 831 600.