At IPD, our ethos is simple: planning and design to create a sustainable future.
We help clients secure robust, high-quality planning approvals and deliver highways and drainage solutions. By combining chartered planning expertise with civil engineering capability in one integrated team, we unlock sites others sometimes consider too complex, from small residential schemes to major housing, commercial and mixed-use developments across the UK.
That integrated approach is becoming essential as the planning system changes.
The planning system is undergoing its biggest shift since the introduction of the National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF) in 2012.
The Government is consulting on significant updates to the NPPF through to March 2026, alongside the introduction of National Development Management Policies (NDMPs) and a new plan-making system. Together, these reforms aim to create faster, slimmer and more consistent Local Plans — and a more predictable development process.
The consultation highlights a number of important reforms, including:
A permanent presumption in favour of suitably located development
Greater densification in urban and well-connected areas
Stronger support for medium-sized housing sites
Enhanced climate and environmental policies
A more vision-led approach to transport and movement
Taken together, these changes push development toward being more design-led, sustainable and infrastructure-aware from the outset.
Transport and Highways
Transport Assessments and Travel Plans will increasingly need to demonstrate a clear Transport Vision, addressing multi-modal movement, safety, accessibility and behaviour change, not just traffic impact.
Flood Risk and Drainage
Policies strengthen expectations around sequential testing, SuDS design, long-term maintenance and resilience. Schemes that cannot demonstrate flood resilience are more likely to be refused.
Street Design and Access
Design priorities shift firmly toward pedestrians and cyclists, with support for continuous footways, cycle infrastructure and EV charging, and less emphasis on vehicle-led layouts.
For developers, compliance-only approaches to transport and drainage are no longer enough. The new system expects joined-up infrastructure, environmental resilience and efficient use of land.
For local authorities, the reforms promise clearer policies and potentially faster plan-making.
For communities, if delivered well, this should result in better-connected places, safer streets and more sustainable neighbourhoods.
With planning and civil engineering integrated in one team, IPD can address planning strategy, highways, drainage, access and sustainability together — exactly how the future system expects development to be designed.
We embed technical considerations into planning strategy from day one, helping clients navigate change and unlock complex sites with confidence.
IPD is a Chartered Planning and Civil Engineering consultancy based in Chesterfield. We secure planning approvals and deliver highways and drainage solutions across the UK.
Planning reform is coming. Success will depend on early, integrated design and that’s how we already work.