10 CONTEXT 189 : SEPTEMBER 2026 CONTEXT 186 : DECEMBER 2025 Law and policy Alexandra Fairclough writes: England’s Planning and Infrastructure Bill (introduced in March 2025) is moving ahead at pace. Its aim is to expedite decisions, unlock housing and major infrastructure, and revamp the system’s resource allocation. In Context 183 (March 2025), I mentioned that ministers had updated the National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF) as part of the planning reform. The government also launched a review of who gets a statutory say on applications. Worryingly, these subtle changes could alter the balance between growth and heritage. The committee stage of the Planning and Infrastructure Bill (commenced 17 July) continued throughout September. At the time of writing, the bill is in the report stage in the House of Lords. Many late amendments have caused a significant debate and criticism over inadequate scrutiny time. The bill is expected to undergo further debate and potential amendment at the third reading. To keep up to date, see Historic England’s monthly Planning Bulletins. The future position of the Gardens’ Trust and the Theatres Trust as statutory consultees on heritage casework is still uncertain. The government proposed a review of the scope of all the statutory consultees to reduce the type and number of applications on which they must be consulted. With regard to planning, this amounts to 25 organisations. The government’s intention is to make better use of standing advice rather than case-by-case responses. This does not prevent any organisation from responding to planning applications, but they would not be formally consulted, and reduced weight would be attached to any advice given. Northern Ireland In Northern Ireland, the Department for Communities published a new framework for the historic environment, the Heritage, Culture and Creativity Programme Framework. The objectives are to set the direction for future policy, with public consultation before the end of 2025. The proposals include: • Using historic assets to support government outcomes • Investing in the care and adaptive re-use of the historic environment to drive regeneration • Adopting best practice in identifying and safeguarding the historic environment in line with legislation and charters • Ensuring that well-managed heritage assets contribute to highquality rural and urban places, landscapes and biodiversity. • Empowering communities to use their historic environment as a resource to meet local needs. For more information, see communities-ni.gov.uk Scotland Earlier in the year Historic Environment Scotland published a three-year operating plan entitled Heritage for All, setting out actions relating to statutory functions, and refreshing historic environment policy for Scotland. Currently historic environment policy is being driven by the Our Past, Our Future strategy, which is focused on climate action, community empowerment and the wellbeing economy. Case law in England and Wales R (Chidswell Action Group) v Kirklees Council and CC Projects (an unlimited company) and Harworth Estates (Agricultural Land) Ltd, decision date 4 September 2025 Outline planning permission, quashed. This is an application for judicial review on four grounds, with a fifth being added later. This fifth ground was the failure to publish a s106 agreement during the decision-making process. A draft s106 should be published at the earliest time to allow members of the public to view it and comment. The court referred to a recent Court of Appeal decision (R (Greenfields (IOW) Ltd v Isle of Wight Council [2025] EWCA Civ 488), which stated that working drafts of s106 agreements should be published early, rather than final drafts at the end of the planning decision process. R (Wild Justice) v Pembrokeshire Coast National Park Authority and Adventure Beyond Ltd, decision date 5 September 2025 Planning permission sought, quashed. This application was for judicial review for the failure to publish background papers during the decision-making process (as required by s100d of the Local Government Act) on which the decision was based. These cases are a stark reminder that all relevant documents should be published, so that the open process of planning decisionmaking can allow for public consultation. Valerie Maximen v Arc 3 Architecture Ltd [2025] unreported Michael Feeney reported this case in The Planner (November/ December 2025). In a case of Growth and heritage Alexandra Fairclough writes: Since my last law and policy update we have seen a change in leadership in Westminster. Appointments relevant to heritage planning are Angela Rayner returning as housing secretary; Matthew Pennycook continuing as minister for housing and planning; Lisa Nandy continuing as culture secretary; Miatta Fahnbulleh becoming energy security and net zero secretary; and Angela Eagle becoming environment secretary. Devolution is rapidly becoming the organising principle of national policy, with the establishment of No 10 North in Manchester signalling a deliberate redistribution of political focus away from Westminster. The prime minister’s weekly presence, combined with expanded mayoral powers and the creation of a National Economic Council that brings regional mayors directly into central decisionmaking, mark a structural shift in how priorities are set and delivered. For the heritage sector, already rooted in local delivery, this creates a moment of opportunity to shape place-based investment, though it also highlights the risk of uneven outcomes in areas without mayoral leadership. Housing, high streets and regeneration are now being treated as a single policy ecosystem. A renewed emphasis on councilled housebuilding and reducing homelessness sits alongside a national mission to revive high streets as ‘symbols of Britain’s renaissance’. Business rate reforms already underway will have direct implications for heritage assets, particularly those anchoring town-centre regeneration. Andy Burnham’s ambition for ‘good growth in every postcode’ aligns closely with heritage-led regeneration as a proven mechanism for delivering social value, economic uplift and civic identity. England The revised National Planning Policy Framework was published on 17 August, marking the most significant shift in English builtheritage policy in over a decade. Rather than treating heritage as a stand-alone chapter, the new NPPF weaves it through the entire planning system, creating a more rules-based, less discretionary approach. For practitioners, this means that heritage is no longer something consulted on at the end of a design process: it is now embedded from the earliest stages of planmaking through to the final decision notice. One of the most noticeable changes is how heritage responsibilities are divided. Planmaking and decision-making now have clearly separated roles. Local planning authorities are expected to maintain up-to-date conservation area appraisals, management plans, local lists and historic environment records. These are no longer merely desirable documents but essential evidence bases that must be in place before plans are examined. The framework expects heritage policies to be spatially specific, identifying where significance constrains growth and where enhancement opportunities exist. This frontloading of evidence is designed to reduce ambiguity later in the process. Decisionmaking has also been reshaped. The familiar harm tests remain, but the structure around them is more prescriptive. Applicants must demonstrate a clear understanding of significance – not just of fabric, but of setting, character and associative values. The government’s response to the 2025–26 consultation is seen here: the harm framework is tighter, the expectations for evidence are higher, and the link between plan-making documents and decision-making weight is much stronger. Officer reports will need to show transparent reasoning, and inspectors will expect consistency. Heritage is also threaded through the framework’s wider ambitions for growth, design and placemaking. Policies on well-designed places now require contextual responses grounded in historic character. Towncentre policies treat heritage as a regeneration asset rather than
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