“I promised we’d get Britain building,” said Housing Secretary Steve Reed as ministers opened a consultation on a more rules‑based National Planning Policy Framework and set out further steps to speed up housebuilding on Tuesday 16 December. For northern councils and builders, the shift points to quicker decisions in urban areas and a firmer push on density.

In a letter published the same day, Reed sketches a draft Framework that separates plan‑making from decision‑making and, crucially, proposes that new national decision‑making policies would override conflicting policies in local plans from day one. A standing presumption in favour of suitably located development is also trailed to make outcomes more predictable.

The package leans into urban intensification. Councils would be expected to back higher‑density housing in existing neighbourhoods, on street corners and within walking distance of rail and tram stops. A “default yes” is planned for land around well‑connected stations, with set density benchmarks, and ministers are prepared to include parts of the Green Belt close to those hubs.

That emphasis meshes with Platform4, the government‑backed property company formed to deliver 40,000 homes on surplus railway land. Early sites include Newcastle’s Forth Goods Yard and Manchester Mayfield, pointing to where planning teams in the North could see the biggest early shifts as the rules bed in.

Sheffield is also in the frame: ministers will provide an extra £5 million to expand the Small Sites Aggregator across Bristol, Sheffield and Lewisham, aiming to bring together up to 60 small brownfield plots for new social rent homes. The council says the pilot is designed to crack viability on tiny, awkward plots that rarely move without help.

A call will go out for ambitious local authorities to co‑produce pattern books of standard house types, using modern methods of construction and AI‑enabled design tools to reduce risk and speed up delivery-an offer many northern planning teams struggling with capacity will study closely.

Environmental policy is being tweaked alongside the growth push. The letter confirms an exemption from biodiversity net gain for sites up to 0.2 hectares and a rapid consultation on a targeted brownfield exemption. Green groups warn the change risks death‑by‑a‑thousand‑cuts from small schemes.

On developer contributions, the message is pragmatism without backsliding. The government points councils to the statutory Section 106A route for modifying obligations where that helps make delivery viable, while warning that the forthcoming Section 73B mechanism is for genuine design changes-not a back door to cut agreed affordable housing.

Ministers also plan to bring more big decisions to Whitehall if needed. Councils will have to notify government before refusing schemes of 150 homes or more, and call‑ins will be faster with fewer inquiries. Streamlining statutory consultees aims to cut consultation volumes by up to 40 per cent, which could matter for stalled urban sites across Greater Manchester, West Yorkshire and Tyneside.

Today’s draft sits on top of the 2024 consultation that proposed making the standard method for housing need mandatory and restoring a rolling five‑year land supply. From July 2026, authorities with plans far below local need face an extra 20 per cent buffer in their five‑year pipeline.

The consultation runs for 12 weeks and closes on 10 March. DLUHC guidance points to an updated NPPF after analysis, the new plan‑making system from early 2026 and a transition period through to 31 December 2026-so timetables in town halls need to tighten now.

The test for the North is simple: will these rules finally bring certainty-clear numbers, quicker decisions and the capacity to get schemes away? If the answer is yes, the places primed around stations and small brownfield plots could move first. The next 12 weeks will tell.