The Association for Consultancy and Engineering (ACE) has warned that the government’s proposed reforms to the National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF) could fall short of delivering meaningful change unless National Development Management Policies (NDMPs) are given statutory status.

ACE said its members support the government’s ambition to simplify the planning system and accelerate development through the updated NPPF. However, the organisation cautioned that introducing NDMPs through non-statutory guidance risks failing to provide the clarity and consistency needed to improve planning decisions and speed up development.

Without statutory backing, ACE believes the reforms could leave the planning system facing many of the same structural challenges that currently slow plan-making and development decisions across the country.

Ben Brittain, director of public affairs at ACE, said clarity in national planning priorities would be essential if the government wants to accelerate housing delivery and infrastructure development.

“If we’re serious about speeding up the planning system and building the huge number of homes that is desperately needed, the starting point must be clarity and consistency,” he said.

“National priorities, whether that’s protecting nature or safeguarding our heritage should be set clearly at the national level, rather than being rewritten repeatedly in hundreds of separate local plans. Without this and with loosely worded guidance, the NPPF will be all bark and no bite.

“Giving statutory weight to National Development Management Policies would instead provide a clear, consistent framework, cut duplication and make the system simpler and easier to navigate.

“Clarity also matters when priorities collide, as they inevitably do. When every priority has the same policy weight, it makes it more difficult to balance competing interests. Clarity would provide the certainty that we need, allowing Local Plans to focus on what they do best: planning the future of our local communities and places that we call home.”