Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:

To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what assessment he has made of the potential impact of putting the agent of change principle on a statutory footing on i) the speed of the planning process ii) the number of grassroots music venues iii) new housing starts iv) urban development.

The agent of change policy is given effect through the National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF), which makes clear that where the operation of an existing business or community facility could have a significant adverse effect on new development in its vicinity, the applicant (or ‘agent of change’) should be required to provide suitable mitigation before the development has been completed.

The government is currently consulting on a new NPPF that includes clearer, ‘rules based’ policies for decision-making and plan-making. The consultation includes a proposed update to the agent of change policy which sets out in more detail the types of matters which should be considered. These include early engagement with existing uses to identify potential impacts; the use of planning conditions to secure agreed mitigation measures; and the need to consider both current and permitted levels of activity to reduce the risk of conflict.

The consultation can be found on gov.uk here and will remain open for responses until 10 March 2026.