Government planning law change set to clear way for new housing near railway stations

The new rules will make it easier for developers to win permission for homes at Crews Hill, reports James Cracknell

An upcoming change to planning law from the government will make it much easier for developers to win permission for homes near railway stations – including at the Crews Hill ‘new town’.

The Labour government now led by Prime Minister Andy Burnham announced this morning (Monday 17th) that it intends to introduce changes to the National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF), the overarching guidance that local planning authorities such as Enfield Council are asked to follow when considering applications.

While a number of changes are being brought in, the most significant is a new rule requiring councils to give a ‘default yes’ to residential schemes “within reasonable walking distance of well-connected stations”, alongside “new minimum expectations for how much housing should be built in these areas”.

Other changes to the NPPF include clearer national policies for both plan-making and decision-making, “reducing reliance on subjective judgement and limiting duplication between local and national policy”.

This will mean less planning weight is given to the new Enfield Local Plan – likely to be adopted next year – in areas where it is deemed to be “inconsistent with national decision-making policies”.

There is also a change to the NPPF that will enable “stronger support for growth and infrastructure including support for AI Growth Zones and data centres”.

In Enfield, the government has named Crews Hill and Chase Park as one of seven new towns where housebuilding will be “accelerated”. Although more details are due to be published this autumn, the Enfield new town is currently slated for 21,000 homes on Green Belt land in the rural north-west of the borough, with “spades in the ground” expected by 2029.

Only a relatively small part of this development is likely to qualify under the government’s criteria of homes proposed “within reasonable walking distance” of a station, however, which the government defines as being under 800 metres, or around half-a-mile.

While Crews Hill does have a railway station with services into central London, during the Local Plan examination last summer the inspector heard criticisms of the separate ‘Chase Park’ development – comprising greenfield farm and grazing land in World’s End – over its lack of transport connectivity.

The vast majority of the Chase Park site currently earmarked for homes in the draft Local Plan is not within walking distance of either Oakwood or Enfield Chase stations, and Transport for London previously objected to its allocation for housing on the basis it would “become car dependent”.

Announcing the government’s updated NPPF this morning, Housing Secretary Angela Rayner said: “A safe, secure home is the foundation of opportunity, but too many people are being priced out of the communities where they want to live and work.

“By unlocking thousands of homes around well-connected transport hubs, we’re helping people live closer to work, school and the services they rely on, while backing local businesses and driving growth in our communities.

“That’s how we’ll tackle the housing crisis and raise living standards for people in every corner of the country.”

However, the new rules have been criticised by the Campaign to Protect Rural England. Chief executive Roger Mortlock said: “Andy Burnham arrived at Number 10 promising greater devolution. Today’s National Planning Policy Framework appears to straitjacket local leaders, especially in rural England, with a rigid, one-size-fits-all approach that ignores the realities on the ground.

“A ‘default yes’ to development near any train station, regardless of its capacity, will see thousands of homes built in places with no prospect of extra trains or other essential infrastructure. Integrating new homes with public transport is good for people and the planet but this blanket approach risks locking in car dependency while putting the Green Belt and other protected landscapes at risk.”

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