The Ashington & Blyth Community Partnership meeting scheduled for 15 April 2026 was set to discuss significant changes to national planning policy and their implications for local development. The meeting's agenda also included updates on petitions and a community marketplace for informal discussions.

Planning: New Challenges and Opportunities

A key item on the agenda was a discussion on Planning - New Challenges and Opportunities, with Rob Murfin, Director of Housing and Planning, scheduled to attend. The report pack indicated that this session would cover the context and importance of planning, current pressures and risks, potential opportunities, and the relevant timetable.

The presentation highlighted that the Plan-led approach to development, which relies on the Northumberland Local Plan and made Neighbourhood Plans, has not changed. However, it warned that without a robust plan, speculation could drive decision-making. The report noted several changes since the current Local Plan was prepared, including the development of the Northumberland Line, the establishment of the North East Combined Authority, increased inward investment, investment in town centres, the creation of the North East Investment Zone, and pressures related to affordable and specialist housing, as well as tourism. The need for 34,000 new homes was also mentioned.

A significant concern raised was the potential loss of the five-year housing land supply¹. The report indicated that by March 2027, Northumberland would likely be unable to demonstrate a five-year supply, which would trigger the presumption in favour of sustainable development. This presumption means that development applications would be approved by default unless specific harms outweighed the benefits.

The presentation also detailed changes to the National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF) and the Planning and Infrastructure Act, which came into effect in December 2025. These changes include:

• Grey Belt land: The report explained that Green Belt land would no longer be considered sacrosanct if it did not effectively serve its defined purposes, such as preventing the sprawl of large built-up areas or the merging of towns. Land that does not perform well against these purposes could be designated as Grey Belt.
• Permanent presumption in favour of suitably located development: This policy makes the development of suitable land in urban areas acceptable by default.
• Building homes around stations: There would be a default yes approach to land near rail stations within existing settlements, and around well-connected train stations outside settlements, including in the Green Belt.
• Urban and suburban densification : This refers to increasing the density of housing in urban and suburban areas, including through infill development and development on low-density plots, and even within residential curtilages (garden grabbing ).

The report also touched upon reforms to how public involvement and planning committees operate, with a consultation on planning committee reform published in March 2026. It was noted that for Communities, Town and Parish Councils (TCs/PCs), the importance of Local Plans and Neighbourhood Plans would increase.

The presentation outlined an indicative timetable for the Local Plan process, with a scoping consultation planned for May-June 2026, public consultation on proposed plan content and evidence in early 2027, and the adoption of the plan anticipated in early 2029. The report stressed the importance of community involvement in identifying preferred development locations, highlighting missed site opportunities, and commenting on community housing needs, design priorities, and infrastructure requirements.

Petitions

The meeting was scheduled to receive any new petitions, consider reports on petitions previously received, and receive updates on petitions for which a report had been previously considered.

Community Market Place and Informal Discussion

A Community Market Place was planned to facilitate informal discussions with various businesses in the local community.