National Planning Policy Framework consultation - Our response

When the Labour government came into office in 2024, they immediately moved to reform of the UK Planning framework. The main driver was tackling the housing crisis, but reforms also presented the opportunity to work towards other aims, including boosting local economies, improving public transport and addressing climate change. At Making Music, we became interested as aims included “achieving well-designed places” and “promoting healthy communities”.  

Our Make Space for Music campaign asks decision-makers at local authority and Government level to consider how spaces for music making meet exactly these aims. The community spaces such as church, school and village halls that our members rehearse and perform in are essential if what planners want to achieve are communities that enable people to be healthier and wealthier.  Making music has proven health benefits, concerts put cash in to local economies, and our member groups provide learning and also employment opportunities, all with almost no state investment. But music groups do rely on community spaces that are inexpensive to hire, easy to get to and accessible.  

Existing spaces used for music are increasingly under threat, as local authority budgets tighten and the costs of running a building have sky-rocketed. And if Government wants to ‘build baby build’ , will new places that spring up have the community spaces that are so important for every-day life? Not just music making, but yoga classes, toddler groups and family parties? 

So Making Music responded to the initial consultation in 2024, and has just completed a response to the most recent National Planning Policy Framework consultation which closed in March. We highlighted where planning legislation could protect community spaces under threat, and where it could ensure that suitable spaces were provided in new place development.  We also commented on how transport infrastructure, both public transport and parking, affected attendance at music rehearsals and concerts, highlighting particular challenges for people in rural communities and disabled people travelling to evening activity.  

We pushed back on the use of the term ‘community space’ to include culture spaces such as theatres and concert halls. Theatres Trust raised the issue that not naming cultural buildings explicitly could weaken legislation and make it more difficult to protect these under threat buildings, and we agreed. But we welcomed the strengthening of the ‘Agent of Change’ principle, which makes developers responsible for mitigating measures for noise when new residential development is built next to existing music venues.  

Importantly, we were pleased to see that reforms have made the document more readable and less impenetrable. Planning policy should be a tool that everyone in a community can use, to fight for the protection and provision of the spaces they need to live well. If you are concerned about space for music making and performance where you live, please do get in touch. Making Music can support you to make the case for these essential spaces and keep music in all of our communities.