LandTech have put our data to good use, contributing to the Royal Town Planning Institute’s latest ‘Location of Development’ report. The latest RTPI report examines where planning applications are moving forward and how approved development locations align with key destinations, aiming to reveal whether the planning system is facilitating housing near essential locations or simply embedding car dependency for another generation.
The National Planning Policy Framework was introduced in 2012 and, among its objectives, were:
- Building a strong, competitive economy and supporting a prosperous rural economy;
- Ensuring the vitality of town centres;
- Promoting healthy communities;
- Promoting sustainable transport; and
- Making effective use of land.
Although the Framework has been updated over time, these core goals remain consistent. But are we actually seeing progress toward achieving them?
To explore this, LandTech partnered with the RTPI to analyse ten years of planning application data, alongside journey time data to key destinations.
Below, we’ll highlight our research approach and findings to assess how effective the Framework has been in promoting developments that support less car-dependent, more connected communities.
The power of data
Data on where planning applications are approved is widely available, including in LandInsight. Outside London, accurate and machine-readable data on precisely how many homes are approved in each planning application is harder to come by - so it’s worth noting the trends identified in the report are not based on every planning application submitted during the ten-year period.
Our analysis focussed on Major Developments (i.e. applications for 10+ houses) and although not every major application is included in the analysis, the overall numerical trends follow those centrally reported for all planning applications in this period.
The main reason for the omission of some major planning applications from this analysis is due to the way in which the data is recorded by the LPA upon submission of the application. Unless data is collected in a consistent way across the country, this kind of macro analysis of planning application performance will remain challenging.
You can’t manage what you can’t measure, and despite the excellent progress made in some LPAs over the last decade - notably in London thanks to the work of the GLA - the quality of data produced by LPAs in relation to the function of our planning system remains patchy.
Key findings
With the above in mind, our joint research uncovered the fact that, despite the objectives of the NPPF being in place for over a decade, driving remains the most convenient mode of transport in most cases from new development sites, undermining efforts to reduce emissions and shift toward sustainable travel.
Research suggests that it is 1.5 times faster to reach key destinations from new residential developments by car when compared to public transport options, and 2 times faster to reach hospitals by car.
As such, it is clear that new housing developments largely remain car-dependent, with minimal improvement in access to essential services by walking, cycling, or public transport.
While 96% of new homes can reach a town centre within a 20-minute drive, only 66% have the same access using public transport and only 47% are within a 20-minute walk of town centres.
Why these findings matter for developers
As planning policy evolves, and new requirements are included within the equation about where developments should be approved, considering the location of development sites and how these development sites relate to existing destinations is likely to become more important.
Case in point here is the proposed introduction of Grey Belt within the 2024 Draft NPPF. As currently drafted, the new NPPF will facilitate development in the Green Belt where the LPA cannot demonstrate five years of housing supply, or where they are not able to meet 75% of their housing delivery requirements, and when the proposed development is in a sustainable location.
While the mechanism for determining if a location is ‘sustainable’ currently lacks sufficient definition there would be a case to make that the proxies that we have used in this research allow for a robust assessment of sustainability.
The findings of the Location of Development research indicate that more needs to be done to ensure that new developments are located in sustainable locations that do not further entrench car dependency, and its associated ailments of social isolation, sedentary lifestyles, and poor air quality.
How LandInsight supports data-driven sustainable site selection
The data-driven approach that we have been able to take in supporting this research has also supported the development of our Grey Belt site identification tool.
We have harnessed the same ‘journey times’ data used in this research, as part of a suite of other data points, to develop a robust proxy for the relative ‘sustainability’ of identified sites within the existing Green Belt.
Unless significant changes emerge within the new NPPF following the consultation period, we expect sites that can be shown to be in ‘sustainable’ locations will form part of the mix of housing sites that are likely to come forward over the next decade.
Better data to build a better future
The RTPI and LandTech's Location of Development report reveals a pressing reality: car dependency remains a fixture in most new developments, despite years of policy efforts aimed at promoting sustainable transport.
As the planning landscape shifts, forward-thinking developers will need tools like LandInsight to stay ahead. LandInsight equips developers to align with the National Framework’s latest policy demands, reduce car reliance, and create communities that prioritise access to essential services.
With LandInsight’s data-driven insights, developers have a powerful advantage to design smarter, better-connected communities that not only meet housing needs but also foster a sustainable, healthier environment for all. This is more than development—it’s about building a better future.
