• Stronger action is needed to reduce car dependence. The NPPF needs to place greater emphasis on sustainable locations, sustainable transport connectivity. Reducing the need to travel must be a core placemaking goal.

• Sustainable and inclusive transport - especially buses - must be a central consideration, with clearer guidance and better signposting to tools such as the Department for Transport (DfT) Connectivity Tool, Manual for Streets and Bus Service Improvement Plans. The NPPF must recognise that perceptions of safety, particularly for women and girls, are fundamental to walking, wheeling and public transport.  

• Vague terminology in the draft NPPF risks weakening local authority powers and enabling development to take place in unsuitable locations, particularly in the case of small-scale developments and areas where housing land supply is constrained.

• CIHT further emphasises the need for stronger support for bus services, warning that the revised NPPF makes only limited reference to buses despite their essential role in inclusive mobility and social equity. It calls for better guidance to ensure bus services are in place from day one of new developments, helping to prevent car‑centric travel habits becoming entrenched. 

CIHT appreciates the Government’s ongoing commitment to an extensive planning reform programme and offer our ongoing support to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG).