What is the National Planning Policy Framework and how does it incorporate health?

The National Planning Policy Framework sets out the government’s planning policies for England and how these should be applied. It is subject to updates so make sure you refer to the most up to date version. The “promoting healthy and safe communities” chapter of the National Planning Policy Framework sets out requirements when creating planning policies and making planning decisions (1).

As an overarching principle, the National Planning Policy Framework emphasises that planning decisions must be informed by evidence:

• The preparation and review of all policies should be underpinned by relevant and up-to-date evidence. This should be adequate and proportionate, focused tightly on supporting and justifying the policies concerned, and take into account relevant market signals.

The National Planning Policy Framework sets out requirements relevant to promoting healthy food environments. These can help frame and inform actions when preparing local plans and making planning decisions:

• Enable and support healthy lives, through both promoting good health and preventing ill-health, especially where this would address identified local health and well-being needs and reduce health inequalities between the most and least deprived communities – for example through the provision of safe and accessible green infrastructure, sports facilities, local shops, access to healthier food, allotments and layouts that encourage walking and cycling.
• To provide the social, recreational and cultural facilities and services the community needs, planning policies and decisions should: take into account and support the delivery of local strategies to improve health, social and cultural wellbeing for all sections of the community.
• Create places that are safe, inclusive and accessible and which promote health and well-being, with a high standard of amenity for existing and future users.

In particular the Framework introduces a policy on managing hot food takeaways:

• Local planning authorities should refuse applications for hot food takeaways and fast food outlets: – within walking distance of schools and other places where children and young people congregate, unless the location is within a designated town centre; or – in locations where there is evidence that a concentration of such uses is having an adverse impact on local health, pollution or anti-social-behaviour.

Whilst the policies within the National Planning Policy Framework must be taken into account in preparing local and neighbourhood plans and is a ‘material consideration’ in deciding planning applications, it does not dictate how local and neighbourhood plans should be written. It is a framework for producing local and neighbourhood plans which meet local needs.