Policy
Policy is where a political target becomes a planning decision. These pieces follow the mechanisms that do the work: the formula that sets the number, the rule that strips a council of its veto, the levy meant to make development pay its way, and the word "affordable" doing a great deal of heavy lifting. Each one explained, sourced, and weighed against what it actually delivers.
The Housing Delivery Test results, and the third of England that cannot say no.
The government published two measurements at once on 17 August, ending a twenty month gap. England as a whole delivered 92% of what it was required to. Even so, 93 of the 301 authorities measured came in below 75%, the point at which national policy treats an unmet need for housing as proven.
The site that is both an application and an allocation, and why allocation now changes the test.
The new framework shields an adopted local plan for five years, so every council in England has a reason to adopt one quickly. It also treats an allocated site as part of the settlement, which switches a live application from the harder national policy to the easier one. Those two facts are about to meet each other in a lot of places.
The new National Planning Policy Framework, and what happened to the tilted balance.
England's planning rulebook was rewritten on 17 August 2026, the first full rewrite since 2012. Paragraph 11(d), the provision that has decided contested housing appeals for eight years, does not appear in it. Here is what replaced it, and what did not change.
Hope value, and the new power for parish councils.
A change in section 113 of the Planning and Infrastructure Act 2025 lets land be bought compulsorily on behalf of a parish or community council without paying for the planning permission it does not yet have. Every explainer on this site tells parishes what they cannot do. This is the first thing in years that hands them something.
Biodiversity net gain, and what changed for small sites and self-builders.
Three things changed in biodiversity net gain on 6 August 2026. Almost all the coverage reported one of them, and it was not the one that takes a policy away from the people the government says it wants to help.
What happens to a local plan when the council is abolished.
The government has told councils facing abolition that reorganisation is no excuse to stop making a local plan. Two districts have read the same instruction and done opposite things. Neither of them is obviously wrong, and the difference decides who spends the next several years without a plan.
The seven new towns, and the list that is already overdue.
Twelve locations became seven in March. The consultation closed in May, the final list was promised for summer, and summer is nearly over. What is proposed is around 191,000 homes at a 40% affordable target, which would be the most ambitious social housing commitment in decades if the mechanism that usually erodes it can be avoided.
The Housing Delivery Test, and why the results have not been published since 2024.
The Housing Delivery Test can strip a council of its power to refuse. The last time the government published the results was December 2024, and the page where they appear carries no explanation for the gap.
The neighbourhood plan, and what it can actually do.
The most democratic tool in the planning system, and the one with the least power when the system is under pressure.
Section 106 and the Community Infrastructure Levy.
Two mechanisms for making developers pay for what development needs, and why both are under strain.
What "affordable" actually means, and what it costs.
The gap between what the planning system calls affordable and what a local worker can pay.
The five-year supply, the tilted balance, and why your council can't say no.
The mechanism that hands control to developers when a council falls behind.
What the standard method is, and what it is not.
A formula, a set of inputs, and a missing cap. Three things, in order.
The Housing Algorithm.
How a government formula is overriding local democracy, ignoring physical reality, and reshaping rural England.