NPPF 2026: The planning policy changes that back farmers

The new National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF) is the biggest update to planning policy in a generation, with rural landowners set to benefit from a more supportive and streamlined rules-based system.

Planning has often been another obstacle for rural businesses and farmers to navigate, whether proposals are to support traditional agricultural activities, diversify, or develop. Having faced increasing challenges to keep rural businesses viable in recent years and make best use of land, the rural sector will no doubt welcome this suite of planning changes as a positive step in the right direction.

Ros Trotman, Partner in our Planning and Environment team, highlights five key changes that will stand to benefit the rural sector.

Modernisation

Under the new NPPF, benefits for domestic food production, animal welfare and the environment, will be given substantial weight in applications seeking to modernise farms to support the growth of agricultural businesses. This is a significantly stronger starting point for applications that include the likes of livestock buildings, grain stores and other buildings and infrastructure helping to update farms.

This doesn't mean anything goes, however, with top grade agricultural land remaining protected.

When it comes to plan-making, the NPPF provides for allocation of sites to support the expansion or modernisation of businesses of all sizes to support economic growth and resilience, with specific reference made to leisure and tourism, agriculture and other rural and land-based businesses which may be of particular importance in certain areas.

A new default yes

We now have a more permanent and explicit presumption in favour of development in certain locations and categories.

For inside settlements there’s a default yes for proposed projects, as long as benefits are not substantially outweighed by adverse effects.

For outside settlements – the area where much of the rural sector will be interested in – it’s another default yes for proposed project if the site falls within one of the categories listed in the NPPF, again, as long as the benefits are not substantially outweighed by adverse effects.

Some of the key categories include:

• Development for agriculture, horticulture and forestry; outdoor sport and recreation; allotments; cemeteries and burial grounds; mineral extraction and processing; engineering operations and infrastructure (including for transport, energy, water and telecommunications); roadside facilities; national defence and security; or which is solely for nature conservation, restoration and/or enhancement;
• Development for rural businesses and services, including tourism, where a location outside settlements is shown to be necessary;
• The reuse, extension, alteration or replacement of an existing building, provided that the existing building is of permanent and substantial construction, is lawful in planning terms, and any extension or alteration will not result in a disproportionate increase in size compared to the existing building. In the case of proposals for a replacement building, it should be for the same use and not disproportionately larger than the one it replaces;
• The redevelopment of previously developed land (including a material change of use to residential or mixed-use including residential) i.e. brownfield sites.
• For individual new homes in the countryside, the NPPF policy essentially remains the same as before in that you would need to demonstrate i. essential need for a rural worker, ii. securing heritage assets, iii. reusing redundant buildings and enhancing the setting, iv. subdivision of an existing dwelling or v. exceptional quality.

So, for those rural landowners and farmers considering diversification projects – including using land for solar farms and glamping sites or converting redundant buildings into farm shops – you now benefit from clearer and stronger national backing, aimed at supporting the long-term viability of agricultural and land-based businesses.

For those looking specifically at opportunities to develop residential schemes at scale, there is a whole host of policy support designed to fast-track new homes across the country, particularly around stations, whether inside or outside settlements or indeed in the Green Belt.

And worth noting new policy support for AI and data centres.

Green belt now supports agricultural development, not just buildings

Previously, green belt policy focused narrowly on agricultural buildings, but the new framework widens this to agricultural development more broadly, opening up a wider range of activity for landowners in the green belt. A small but helpful change for many.

Water and reservoir infrastructure

Improving the capacity and security of water supply for existing users – explicitly including agricultural users – now also carries substantial weight, and applicants shouldn't be required to demonstrate an overall need for the infrastructure either.

For farms increasingly reliant on irrigation and on-farm water storage, particularly during dry summers like the one we have been facing, this gives reservoir and water infrastructure projects a much stronger position with planners.

The bigger picture

Taken together, these changes reflect a planning system that is, for the first time in years, now working more in the rural sector's favour. None of this removes the need for good evidence, sound design or careful engagement with the local planning authority, but the balance has shifted in what appears to be a meaningful way.

Crucially, this new system should create more consistency and certainty across counties in planning application decisions. Importantly, if the local plan is inconsistent with these new national policies, then the local plan will be given minimal weight by the Council determining your application.

For landowners with an eye towards modernising their practices, diversifying or seeking to make other changes through the planning system or even looking at residential or commercial development opportunities, now is a good time to consider how you can make hay whilst the sun shines under this new NPPF.

Thrings’ Planning and Environment lawyers have extensive experience in navigating complex local and national planning policy legislation and has successfully supported developers and local authorities through the approval and appeal processes. To find out more and for advice on your development proposals, please do get in touch.