New Country Homes must be Outstanding
The smallest of changes in planning policy wording means BIG change for anyone considering building a new home in a countryside setting!
The new National Planning Policy Framework released in July 2021 (NPPF21) removed two words from the planning clause relevant for the development of new homes in the countryside. The previous clause (Paragraph 79e) required any new home to be ‘truly outstanding’ or ‘innovative’ - see our previous blog for more info.
However, now the two words ‘or innovative’ have been removed:
The removal of the option for the home to be innovative provides one less attribute on which to hang a design’s planning justification on, essentially halving the number of possible avenues through which to achieve approval for a countryside home - now the only possible route is for the architectural design to be ‘truly outstanding’.
We have questioned why the ‘innovative’ clause has been removed. Having studied many of the Paragraph 80 projects that have been approved in the past, we have noticed a trend in those that have ticked the ‘innovative’ box rather than the ‘truly outstanding’ box - that despite their innovative credentials they are still of relatively poor architectural quality, in appearance and design (albeit we acknowledge that this is a sweeping, subjective opinion).
With modern technology now so advanced it is also proving much harder to be truly innovative. What would have been acceptably innovative five years ago is likely now to be commonplace. Therefore proposing something that has not been done before is proving almost impossible for architects, after all, we are designers not inventors.
This is some of our thinking as to the reason for the removal of the option to be innovative. The result is that for any Paragraph 80e house to be approved moving forward, by its very nature it must be of truly outstanding architectural design. For us this is a fantastic development in policy as it means the standard of any new home in the countryside will be improved - a vital step in preserving the quality of our country’s countryside settings. It also gives us all the more opportunity to focus on the architectural design of our Paragraph 80 projects - not simply the appearance but also the design narrative, the relationships and quality of spaces, the wellness attributes - without the distraction of the increasingly restrictive innovative clause.
We look forward to seeing the impact of this change of policy on future projects. If you are considering such a project and require architectural or planning advice, please contact us here and we will be happy to talk through your aspirations.
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