Decision details

Background / Decision Summary:
The publication of an up-to-date local validation list is a requirement of the National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF). Without one, the Local Planning Authority has no basis for making locally specific validation requirements on planning applications and there is a risk that applicants will refuse to provide information related to Local Plan requirements with their planning applications leading to delays in validation and assessment of applications.

Paragraph 45 of the NPPF provides that “Local planning authorities should publish a list of their information requirements for applications for planning permission. These requirements should be kept to the minimum needed to make decisions and should be reviewed at least every two years. Local planning authorities should only request supporting information that is relevant, necessary and material to the application in question.”

The National Planning Policy Guidance (NPPG) provides further information on local validation lists and clarifies that the list must be up-to-date and published on the LPA’s website. The information requested must be reasonable having regard to the nature and scale of the proposed development, and about a matter which it is reasonable to think will be a material consideration in the determination of the planning application. These statutory tests are set out in section 62 (4A) of the Town and Country Planning Act 1990 (inserted by the Growth and Infrastructure Act) and article 11(3)(c) of the Town and Country Planning (Development Management Procedure) (England) (Order) 2015.

The key benefit of a validation list is that it provides clarity of expectations and should lead to better quality planning applications that reflect the requirements of the policies within the Local Plan. With the correct information provided upfront there should be efficiency savings for the Council when dealing with planning applications.

In the absence of an up-to-date validation list an Executive Member Decision was made on 4 December 2024 to carry out public consultation on the draft validation list. Authority was delegated to the Director of City Development to agree minor changes arising from modifications to the Local Plan prior to adoption, agree a consultation strategy, publish the final version of the validation list, and authorise any minor changes in the future to reflect national or local policy changes.

Authority is now required for minor changes to be made (see Annex 2 Statement of Modifications), alongside formatting and other inconsequential corrections, also to publish the validation list (Annex 1) and start using it to validate applications.

1. Publish the validation list as originally drafted.
2. Publish the validation list as amended following consultation.
3. Pause publishing the validation list pending publication of the revised NPPF.

Options Rejected:
1. Publish the validation list as originally drafted.
3. Pause publishing the validation list pending publication of the revised NPPF.

It is considered that the amendments made to the validation list following consultation provide clarity and are proportionate and reasonable and therefore the amended version is preferable to the original version.

Government issued a consultation in December 2025 on significant amendments to the NPPF. The consultation period ends on 10 March 2026 and it is intended that the revised NPPF is published later in 2026. Amongst the changes proposed is the introduction of National Development Management Policies (NDMP) and Government have made it clear that development plan policies which are in any way inconsistent with the NDMPs get very limited weight. The impact of this in relation to York’s Local Plan policies is not yet clear and it will also be some months before the new NPPF is published, therefore, given the absence of an up-to-date validation list for York, it is considered sensible to publish the current draft validation list while accepting that changes are likely to be required before the end of 2026. In line with the Executive Member decision from December 2024 a further officer decision will be sought to implement any changes required following publication of the revised NPPF.