The UK government’s revised National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF), published in late 2024, presents both opportunities and challenges for developers.
The NPPF aims to unlock ‘grey belt’ land for development to tackle England’s housing shortage while promoting sustainable development. Grey belt land refers to previously developed land within the green belt, like disused car parks and low-biodiversity wastelands, that have minimal impact on the green belt’s core objectives. However, developing such land comes with inherent complexities, including legal encumbrances and uncertain ownership.
National Planning Policy Framework – sustainable development
One key aspect of the NPPF is the presumption in favour of sustainable development, meaning local authorities must approve planning applications unless there is a strong reason to refuse, making it harder for them to reject development. While the NPPF aims to clarify development potential, challenges persist. Each grey belt parcel is unique, with some facing multiple legal issues and other having specific challenges related to historical use or location. Additionally, the ambiguity around what constitutes a ‘not strongly contribute’ to green belt purposes could lead to judicial reviews.
Legal issues with grey belt land
Disused industrial areas, wastelands, and other grey belt land often face legal and title issues such as restrictive covenants that limit development types or require consent from adjacent property owners. Breaking or negotiating these restrictions can be time-consuming and costly, especially if the beneficiaries are hard to identify. Common issues include historical land use restrictions, adverse possession claims, access and easement problems, rights of light for nearby buildings, rights to work mines and minerals, and planning permissions risks due to navigating the ambiguity in the new NPPF, community objections, and potential judicial reviews.
Risk to investment for developers
For developers, these issues can pose significant risks to investment, and unresolved title problems are often unacceptable to funders. To unlock grey belt opportunities and ensure project viability, developers should work with specialist legal advisors and brokers to mitigate risks through legal indemnity insurance policies. Developers will need robust strategies to effectively navigate these complexities and mitigate risks which will require strategic planning to leverage available land effectively. Further regulations and changes to planning policy can be expected this year.
For legal advice, please contact our Real Estate team.