What is the development plan? The starting point for planning decisions

 

The development plan is the statutory collection of planning documents that applies to a piece of land. It is where you find the locally adopted policies, allocations and designations that normally form the starting point when a planning application or appeal is decided.

It is not simply another name for the council’s local plan. A local plan is one important part of the development plan, but the full development plan can also contain strategic, neighbourhood, minerals and waste, and supplementary plan policies, alongside the policies map.

Wales has a different development plan structure. The current Future Wales major revision is reviewing the National Development Framework, which forms part of the statutory development plan framework in Wales.

This matters because planning law gives the development plan special status. The basic rule remains that planning decisions are made in accordance with it unless material considerations indicate otherwise. The National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF) is a material consideration of critical importance, but the August 2026 NPPF has not turned national policy into the statutory development plan.

 

What does the development plan do?

 

England has a plan-led planning system. The development plan sets the locally agreed framework for where development should go, what land is allocated or protected, what infrastructure and affordable housing may be required and which local standards a proposal is expected to meet.

For an individual application, section 70(2) of the Town and Country Planning Act 1990 requires the authority to have regard to the development plan so far as it is material, as well as other material considerations. Section 38(6) of the Planning and Compulsory Purchase Act 2004 then gives the plan its special decision-making status: where regard is to be had to the development plan, the decision is to be made in accordance with it unless material considerations indicate otherwise.

That does not mean every policy in every plan points in the same direction. A decision-maker reads the development plan as a whole, identifies the policies that are relevant to the proposal and then considers the other material considerations before reaching the planning balance.

 

What documents make up the development plan in 2026?

 

The August 2026 NPPF describes the required parts of the new development-plan framework as:

• a Spatial Development Strategy, produced by strategic planning authorities and, in Greater London, the Mayor through the London Plan;
• a local plan, produced by a local planning authority;
• a minerals and waste plan, produced by the relevant minerals and waste planning authority and read alongside the separate National Planning Policy for Waste; and
• a policies map, prepared and kept up to date by the local planning authority to show where development plan policies apply

The development plan may additionally contain supplementary plans and neighbourhood plans.

This describes the structure of the new system. It does not mean that every area currently has four separate operative documents. Some areas do not yet have an operative spatial development strategy, and minerals and waste matters may be combined with a local plan where the authority exercises both functions.

Do not expect every council website to display that neat list yet. England is in a transition between the legacy plan-making system and the new system introduced in March 2026. Existing adopted Development Plan Documents and saved policies continue to have effect until they are replaced, so for a live planning case you must identify the documents actually in force for that land rather than assuming that the council has already moved to the new terminology.

 

A local plan and the development plan are not the same thing

 

The distinction is easy to miss. The local plan is the principal local planning document for the authority’s area. It contains the locally specific strategy, allocations and policies that the council has prepared and taken through examination and adoption.

The development plan is wider. Think of it as the statutory set of plans that must be read together for the site. In London, for example, the strategic plan also matters. Elsewhere a made neighbourhood plan may add very local policies. County or unitary minerals and waste policies can be relevant even to proposals that are not themselves mineral or waste developments, for example where a mineral resource or facility is safeguarded.

 

The 2026 transition: why you will still see Core Strategies and old-style plans

 

The new local plan-making system came into force on 25 March 2026, but 2026 is a dual-running year. Authorities progressing a plan under the legacy system can still submit it for examination by 31 December 2026, subject to the relevant transitional arrangements. Those plans can then proceed under the saved legacy framework.

That means older labels have not suddenly become meaningless. Depending on the authority, the operative development plan may still include documents described as a Core Strategy, Site Allocations Plan, Area Action Plan, other Development Plan Documents or saved policies. Their age may prompt you to check whether circumstances, evidence or national policy have changed, but an old title or adoption date does not by itself remove a policy from the development plan or reduce its weight.

For current plan-making progress, use the council’s own plan pages and our guide to local plans in England.

 

Supplementary Plan or SPD? They are not the same thing

 

This is one of the most important terminology changes in the new system.

• A new-style Supplementary Plan can form part of the statutory development plan. It is subject to consultation and independent examination and, once adopted, has development-plan weight in decisions
• An old-style Supplementary Planning Document (SPD) does not form part of the development plan. It provides additional guidance and can be a material consideration, but it cannot create development-plan policy in its own right

No new SPD can now be adopted after 30 June 2026. Existing SPDs are protected by transitional arrangements while the relevant legacy plan remains in force, so do not simply discard one because the new system has started. Check what it supplements and whether the authority has yet adopted the new-style plan that replaces the old framework. Our dedicated guide to Supplementary Plans and SPDs explains the difference in status, scope and transitional treatment.

 

Where neighbourhood plans fit

 

A neighbourhood plan is prepared by a parish council or neighbourhood forum rather than by the local planning authority. Once made, it forms part of the development plan for its neighbourhood area. Importantly, a neighbourhood plan approved at referendum also forms part of the development plan while it awaits formal making, unless the local planning authority decides that it should not be made.

That can make a neighbourhood policy just as relevant to an application as a policy in the local plan. The August 2026 NPPF also gives qualifying recent neighbourhood plans specific protection through policy S6. Our guide to the presumption in favour of sustainable development explains that protection.

If two development-plan policies genuinely conflict, section 38(5) resolves the conflict, to that extent, in favour of the policy contained in the document that most recently became part of the development plan. The first task is still to see whether the policies can sensibly be read together.

 

Do not ignore the policies map

 

The written policy tells you the rule. The policies map often tells you whether that rule applies to the land at all.

It can show settlement boundaries, allocations, safeguarded land, Green Belt, employment areas, town centres and other geographical designations. Under the new system the map is intended to bring together the geographical application of policies across the development plan, so it should be one of the first things you check rather than an afterthought.

Is it also called a proposals map? Policies map is the current statutory term. Older local plans may call the equivalent document a proposals map, and many operative legacy plans still use that title. A council’s constraints map, designations map or general planning map is not necessarily the statutory policies map: it may include other planning and environmental information, and it may not show every development-plan policy. Development plan map and land-use map are descriptive labels rather than defined statutory terms. Always read the policies map together with the relevant written policies.

This is particularly important with the August 2026 NPPF because whether land is within or outside a settlement can change the national decision-making route. See our guide to settlement boundaries for that separate question.

 

How section 38(6) works in a planning application

 

The development plan is more than just one material consideration among many. It is the statutory starting point.

In practical terms:

• identify the development-plan policies that are material to the proposal;
• consider whether, read as a whole, the proposal accords with the development plan;
• identify other material considerations, including the current NPPF and other relevant national policy and guidance; and
• decide whether those considerations indicate a different outcome

A proposal can therefore be granted even where there is conflict with part of the development plan, but the reason for departing from the plan needs to arise from material planning considerations. Equally, simply quoting one favourable local policy does not establish that the proposal accords with the plan as a whole.

 

Interpreting a planning policy is different from applying it

 

Tesco Stores Ltd v Dundee City Council [2012] UKSC 13 is an important authority on this distinction. The Supreme Court held that the meaning of a development-plan policy is ultimately a question of law. A planning authority cannot give words in a policy whatever meaning it prefers; the policy has to be interpreted objectively, in its proper context.

Applying that correctly interpreted policy to a particular site is different. Development-plan policies often use broad language and leave room for planning judgment about whether the facts satisfy the policy and how much weight any conflict should carry. That evaluative exercise belongs to the planning decision-maker and the courts will not substitute their own planning judgment merely because another view was possible.

The practical sequence is therefore: first work out what the policy actually means; then apply it to the proposal; then carry out the section 38(6) balance. A material misunderstanding of the policy can make the decision unlawful even where the final planning balance is otherwise a matter of judgment.

 

Where does the August 2026 NPPF sit?

 

The August 2026 NPPF deliberately separates policies for plan-making from national decision-making policies. Those national decision-making policies are important material considerations and are to be read alongside the development plan, but they are not currently statutory National Development Management Policies forming part of the section 38 decision-making test.

That distinction matters because the 2023 Act contains powers for a future statutory National Development Management Policy regime, but the Government has not brought that regime into operation for the August 2026 Framework. The familiar section 38(6) rule therefore remains the starting point described by the current NPPF.

There is, however, a strong implementation rule in Annex A. A development-plan policy, or part of one, that is materially inconsistent with a national decision-making policy in the August 2026 NPPF should be given very limited weight, unless it was examined and adopted, or the neighbourhood plan made, against this Framework. Other older policies should not lose weight simply because they pre-date August 2026.

One area where that comparison may matter is residential redevelopment of previously developed land outside settlements under S5(1)(d), particularly where an older countryside policy imposes a broader restraint than the current national decision-making policy.

 

What about an emerging local plan?

 

A draft plan that has not yet become part of the development plan can nevertheless be a material consideration. A neighbourhood plan approved at referendum is an important exception, because it already has development-plan status while it awaits formal making. Our guide to emerging Local Plans, policy weight and prematurity explains the issue in detail. Policy DM4 of the August 2026 NPPF says the weight given to an emerging policy depends on:

• how far the plan has progressed;
• the extent of unresolved objections to the policy; and
• how closely the policy complies with the NPPF’s plan-making policies

The further advanced the plan and the fewer significant unresolved objections, the more weight it may attract. But a refusal purely on prematurity is intended to be exceptional: the proposal must threaten to prejudice central decisions in an emerging plan and that plan must itself be at an advanced stage.

 

Worked examples: when the development plan helps or hinders an application

 

The development plan is easiest to understand when you see how the same national policy can produce a different answer once local allocations, maps and document status are added.

 

Example 1: housing above an existing commercial building in a safeguarded employment area

Situation: A commercial building lies within a settlement and national policy strongly supports making better use of under-used land and buildings. The policies map, however, shows the site inside land safeguarded for employment.

What helps: The within-settlement S4 position and national policy supporting efficient use of land remain important material considerations.

What still needs resolving: The development plan may contain a specific policy protecting the employment function. Retaining active commercial floorspace while adding housing above can create a materially different planning case from replacing the employment use altogether. The correct argument starts with the exact wording of the local policy and the designation shown on the policies map, not simply with the NPPF.

 

Example 2: an old countryside policy appears more restrictive than current S5

Situation: An older local plan says housing outside the settlement boundary will normally be resisted, but the current NPPF identifies a specific S5 route that may support the proposal.

What helps: Annex A says a development-plan policy, or part of one, which is materially inconsistent with a current national decision-making policy should receive very limited weight, subject to the Framework’s exception.

What it does not mean: The local policy is not weak merely because it is old. The applicant must identify the actual inconsistency between the local policy and the current national decision-making policy.

 

Example 3: an emerging local plan allocates the site, but the adopted plan does not

Situation: A draft plan proposes the site for development and the authority treats that as a reason to support the application.

How the policy works: The emerging allocation can be a material consideration, but it is not yet the adopted development plan. Its weight depends on how far the plan has progressed, the extent of unresolved objections and its consistency with national plan-making policy under DM4.

Planning Geek view: Do not describe an emerging allocation as though permission has already been granted by the plan. Equally, do not ignore it if the plan is advanced and the allocation is largely uncontested.

 

Example 4: an SPD asks for something the adopted plan does not

Situation: The council relies heavily on an older Supplementary Planning Document to seek a design standard or contribution.

What matters: An SPD can be a material consideration, but it is not part of the statutory development plan and cannot create development-plan policy in its own right. Check what adopted policy it is actually supplementing and whether the guidance remains consistent with current national policy.

 

Example 5: a neighbourhood plan and local plan genuinely conflict

Situation: A made neighbourhood plan contains a site-specific policy that cannot sensibly be reconciled with an older local-plan policy.

What the law does: Section 38(5) resolves a genuine conflict, to the extent of that conflict, in favour of the policy in the document that most recently became part of the development plan.

Planning Geek tip: Before arguing that a proposal is ‘against the Local Plan’, identify the full development plan, check the policies map and ask whether a later neighbourhood, strategic, minerals, waste or supplementary plan policy changes the answer.

 

A practical development-plan check before you apply or appeal

 

Before relying on a policy quotation from a council website, check the whole chain:

• Which documents are actually adopted or made? Do not confuse an emerging plan with the operative plan
• Is there a spatial development strategy? In London and increasingly elsewhere, it forms part of the development plan and provides the strategic framework for the local plan
• Is there a neighbourhood plan? A made plan, and one approved at referendum while it awaits formal making, may contain site-specific policies missed by a council-wide search
• What does the policies map show? Check boundaries and designations against the application site
• Is the document an SPD or a Supplementary Plan? Their legal status is different
• Has a newer plan superseded the policy? Check adoption statements and the council’s current policy list
• Does Annex A affect the weight of an older policy? Test it against the current national decision-making policies rather than assuming every pre-2026 policy is automatically out of date
• Is an emerging plan relevant? If so, assess its weight using DM4 rather than treating draft policy as adopted policy

For an application, continue with our planning applications section. If you are dealing with a refusal, the same development-plan exercise is central to a planning appeal.

There is no separate fee for checking or relying on the development plan. Any application fee depends on the route being used, so check our planning fees page. Professional advice, planning statements and technical evidence may involve separate costs.

 

Where to go next

 

For the local document itself, read our guide to local plans. For national policy, see the NPPF explained and Planning Practice Guidance. The practical decision-making consequences are covered in our pages on the presumption in favour of sustainable development, five year housing land supply and Housing Delivery Test.

 

Relevant legislation and policy

 

The links below go to the primary legislation and current Government material. On legislation.gov.uk, check the “Changes to Legislation” information as well as the displayed text where relevant.

• Planning and Compulsory Purchase Act 2004, section 38: the statutory development-plan framework and decision-making rule;
• Planning and Compulsory Purchase Act 2004, section 15LD: the preparation and maintenance of the policies map;
• Town and Country Planning Act 1990, section 70: matters an authority must have regard to when determining a planning application;
• Levelling-up and Regeneration Act 2023, section 92: amendments to the content of the development plan;
• Levelling-up and Regeneration Act 2023 (Commencement No. 11 and Saving and Transitional Provisions) Regulations 2026: commencement and the transitional arrangements for legacy plans and supplementary planning documents;
• Town and Country Planning (Local Planning) (England) Regulations 2026: the detailed new-system plan-making procedure;
• Government guidance for the new local plan-making system: current implementation guidance and resources;
• National Planning Policy Framework, August 2026: particularly Chapters 1 to 4, DM4 and Annex A

Other Planning Policy Sections

 

Development Plan Page Updated: 30th August 2026