Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:

To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what guidance is issued to local planning authorities on approving housing developments in areas where existing rural road infrastructure cannot be expanded.

The National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF) makes clear that planning policies and decisions should be responsive to local circumstances in rural areas.

To promote sustainable development, housing should be located where it will support and enhance the vitality of rural communities, especially where this will support local services.

The Framework is also clear that significant development should be focused on locations which are, or can be made, sustainable, through limiting the need to travel and offering a genuine choice of transport modes. It also notes that opportunities to maximise sustainable transport solutions will vary between urban and rural areas, and this should be taken into account in both plan-making and decision-making.

The Framework sets out that development should only be prevented or refused on highways grounds if there would be an unacceptable impact on highway safety, or the residual cumulative impacts on the road network, following mitigation, would be severe, taking into account all reasonable future scenarios.

The government is currently consulting on a new NPPF that includes clearer, ‘rules based’ policies for decision-making and plan-making. The consultation includes policies on housing and sustainable transport.

The consultation can be found on gov.uk here and will remain open for responses until 10 March 2026.