Adoption of the NDSS in England

Seyithan Özer

The Nationally Described Space Standards (NDSS) are implemented through local plans. Therefore, the decision to adopt the NDSS remains at the discretion of local authorities. However, there is no readily available data on the extent to which the NDSS is adopted by English local authorities. Targeting this gap, we submitted an environmental information request to all 322 local planning authorities in England.

1. Have you adopted the Nationally Described Space Standard in your local plans or planning guidance? If so, please provide the date it was adopted. If not, do you have any plans to adopt it, and if so, by when are you planning to adopt it?

2. Do you use any alternative space standards in your local plans or planning guidance? Please provide details of the space standard in use, including the origin such as HQI.

3. If you are using space standards, do you have data on the rate of compliance for new dwellings for up to the last 10 years?

Of all contacted local authorities, 79% (n=253) responded: 37% of them (n=93) had adopted the NDSS in their local plans and policies, and a further 8% (n=21) adopted them as a design guidance in the form of a Supplementary Planning Document (SPD). The number of local authorities who adopted and are planning to adopt the NDSS are shown per year in the graph below. Of the local authorities that did not adopt the NDSS, 85% (n=112) reported that they used no other space standard in their local plan or planning guidance.

We make this dataset available in the table below.

LPA22NM	Local Authority	Adopted	Date	Document	Alternative Standards	Compliance Check
E60000019	Allerdale Borough Council	No	No Plans	N/A	No	N/A
E60000077	Amber Valley Borough Council	No	N/A	N/A	No	N/A
E60000282	Arun District Council	Yes	2018	SPD	No	N/A
E60000253	Ashford Borough Council	Yes	N/A	SPD	No	N/A
E60000183	Babergh District Council	No	Near Future	N/A	No	N/A
E60000064	Barnsley Borough Council	No	No Plans	N/A	South Yorkshire Residential Guide	N/A
E60000020	Barrow-in-Furness Borough Council	No	N/A	N/A	No	N/A
E60000242	Basingstoke & Deane Borough Council	Yes	2018	SPD	No	N/A
E60000288	Bath & North East Somerset Council	Yes	2023	SPD	No	N/A
E60000143	Bedford Borough Council	No	Near Future	N/A	No	N/A
E60000130	Birmingham City Council	Yes	2021	PLAN	No	N/A
E60000085	Blaby District Council	Yes	2020	SPD	No	Yes
E60000013	Blackburn with Darwen Borough Council	Yes	2015	SPD		N/A
E60000014	Blackpool Council	Yes	2023	PLAN		N/A
E60000078	Bolsover District Council	No	No Plans	N/A	No	N/A
E60000025	Bolton Metropolitan Borough Council	No	Near Future	N/A	No	N/A
E60000092	Boston Borough Council	Yes	2019	PLAN		N/A
E60000221	Bracknell Forest Council	No	N/A	N/A	No	N/A
E60000068	Bradford Metropolitan Council	No	Near Future	N/A	NDSS	N/A
E60000155	Braintree District Council	Yes	2022	PLAN		N/A
E60000156	Brentwood Borough Council	Yes	2022	PLAN	Essex Design Guide	N/A
E60000222	Brighton and Hove City Council	Yes	2022	PLAN	No	N/A
E60000290	Bristol City Council	Yes	2021	PLAN	No	N/A
E60000177	Broadland District Council	No	2024	N/A	No	N/A
E60000137	Bromsgrove District Council	No	No Plans	N/A	No	N/A
E60000166	Broxbourne Council	Yes	N/A	SPD	No	N/A
E60000108	Broxtowe Borough Council	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A
E60000331	Buckinghamshire County Council	Partially	2019	PLAN	No	N/A
E60000035	Burnley Borough Council	No	N/A	N/A	Small flats and HMOs	N/A
E60000069	Calderdale	No	No Plans	N/A	No	N/A
E60000117	Cannock Chase District Council	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A
E60000254	Canterbury City Council	Yes	2017	PLAN	No	N/A
E60000021	Carlisle City Council	Yes	2019	SPD		N/A
E60000157	Castle Point	No	N/A	N/A	No	N/A
E60000144	Central Bedfordshire Council	Yes	2021	PLAN		N/A
E60000086	Charnwood Borough Council	No	N/A	N/A	No	N/A
E60000158	Chelmsford Borough Council	Yes	2020	PLAN		N/A
E60000308	Cheltenham Borough Council	Yes	2017	PLAN	No	N/A
E60000015	Cheshire East	Yes	2022	PLAN	No	N/A
E60000016	Cheshire West and Chester	No	N/A	N/A	No	N/A
E60000283	Chichester District Council	No	2024	N/A	No	N/A
E60000036	Chorley Borough Council	No	N/A	N/A	No	N/A
E60000189	City of London Corporation	Yes	2016	London Plan	No	N/A
E60000201	City of Westminster	Yes	2016	London Plan	No	N/A
E60000022	Copeland Borough Council	No	No Plans	N/A	No	N/A
E60000291	Cornwall Council	Yes	2016	PLAN	No	N/A
E60000131	Coventry City Council	No	N/A	N/A	No	N/A
E60000057	Craven District Council	Yes	2022	SPD	No	N/A
E60000284	Crawley Borough Council	Yes	2015	PLAN	No	N/A
E60000167	Dacorum Borough Council	No	N/A	N/A	No	N/A
E60000002	Darlington Borough Council	No	2027	N/A	No	N/A
E60000255	Dartford Borough Council	Yes	2017	PLAN		99.70%
E60000073	Derby City Council	No	N/A	N/A	No	N/A
E60000080	Derbyshire Dales	No	N/A	N/A	No	N/A
E60000065	Doncaster Metropolitan Borough Council	Yes	2021	PLAN	No	N/A
E60000256	Dover District Council	No	2024	PLAN	No	N/A
E60000132	Dudley Metropolitan Borough	No	N/A	N/A	NDSS	N/A
E60000150	East Cambridgeshire	No	N/A	N/A	No	N/A
E60000300	East Devon	Yes	2022	PLAN		N/A
E60000243	East Hampshire District Council	No	N/A	N/A	NDSS	N/A
E60000168	East Hertfordshire	No	N/A	N/A	No	N/A
E60000093	East Lindsey District Council	No	N/A	N/A	No	N/A
E60000052	East Riding of Yorkshire Council	No	N/A	N/A	No	N/A
E60000118	East Staffordshire Borough Council	No	N/A	N/A	Internal dimensions	N/A
E60000237	Eastbourne Council	No	N/A	N/A	No	N/A
E60000244	Eastleigh Borough Council	Yes	2022	PLAN		N/A
E60000023	Eden District Council	Yes	2020	SPD	No	N/A
E60000081	Erewash Borough	No	N/A	N/A	No	N/A
E60000301	Exeter City	Yes	2015	PLAN		N/A
E60000245	Fareham Borough Council	No	N/A	N/A	No	N/A
E60000151	Fenland District Council	No	N/A	N/A	No	N/A
E60000037	Fylde Borough Council	No	N/A	N/A	No	N/A
E60000008	Gateshead Metropolitan Borough Council	Yes	2021	PLAN	No	N/A
E60000109	Gedling Borough Council	No	No Plans	N/A	NDSS	N/A
E60000311	Gloucester City Council	Yes	2023	PLAN	No	N/A
E60000246	Gosport Borough Council	No	Near Future	N/A	English Partnerships Standards in SPD 1B2P:51; 2B3P:66;2B4P:77	N/A
E60000258	Gravesham Borough Council	No	Near Future	N/A	No	N/A
E60000178	Great Yarmouth Borough Council	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A
E60000272	Guildford Borough Council	Yes	2019	PLAN	No	N/A
E60000017	Halton Borough Council	No	N/A	N/A	No	N/A
E60000058	Hambleton	Yes	2022	PLAN	No	N/A
E60000087	Harborough District Council	No	N/A	N/A	No	N/A
E60000161	Harlow Council	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A
E60000059	Harrogate Borough Council	Yes	2020	PLAN	No	N/A
E60000247	Hart District Council	Yes	2020	PLAN	No	N/A
E60000238	Hastings Borough Council	Yes	2015	PLAN	No	N/A
E60000248	Havant District Council	Yes	2019	SPD	No	N/A
E60000113	Herefordshire Council	No	2025	N/A	No	N/A
E60000169	Hertsmere Borough Council	No	No Plans	N/A	Local standards from 2013	N/A
E60000082	High Peak Borough	Yes	2016	PLAN	No	N/A
E60000088	Hinckley & Bosworth District Council	Yes	2020	SPD	No	Yes
E60000285	Horsham District Council	No	Near Future	N/A	No	N/A
E60000185	Ipswich Borough Council	Yes	2022	PLAN	No	N/A
E60000070	Kirklees Metropolitan Borough Council	Yes	2021	SPD	No	N/A
E60000047	Knowsley Metropolitan Borough	No	N/A	N/A	No	N/A
E60000039	Lancaster City Council	Yes	2020	PLAN	No	N/A
E60000071	Leeds City Council	Yes	2019	PLAN	No	N/A
E60000074	Leicester City Council	No	N/A	N/A	No	N/A
E60000048	Liverpool City Council	Yes	2022	PLAN		N/A
E60000202	London Borough of Barking & Dagenham	Yes	2016	London Plan	No	N/A
E60000203	London Borough of Barnet	Yes	2016	London Plan	No	N/A
E60000204	London Borough of Bexley	Yes	2016	London Plan	No	N/A
E60000205	London Borough of Brent	Yes	2016	London Plan	No	N/A
E60000206	London Borough of Bromley	Yes	2016	London Plan	No	N/A
E60000188	London Borough of Camden	Yes	2016	London Plan	No	N/A
E60000207	London Borough of Croydon	Yes	2016	London Plan	No	N/A
E60000208	London Borough of Ealing	Yes	2016	London Plan	No	N/A
E60000209	London Borough of Enfield	Yes	2016	London Plan	No	N/A
E60000210	London Borough of Greenwich	Yes	2016	London Plan	No	N/A
E60000190	London Borough of Hackney	Yes	2016	London Plan	No	N/A
E60000191	London Borough of Hammersmith & Fulham	Yes	2016	London Plan	No	N/A
E60000192	London Borough of Haringey	Yes	2016	London Plan	No	N/A
E60000212	London Borough of Havering	Yes	2016	London Plan	No
E60000213	London Borough of Hillingdon	Yes	2016	London Plan	No	N/A
E60000214	London Borough of Hounslow	Yes	2016	London Plan	No	N/A
E60000193	London Borough of Islington	Yes	2016	London Plan	No	N/A
E60000195	London Borough of Lambeth	Yes	2016	London Plan	No	N/A
E60000196	London Borough of Lewisham	Yes	2016	London Plan	No	N/A
E60000216	London Borough of Merton	Yes	2016	London Plan	No	N/A
E60000197	London Borough of Newham	Yes	2016	London Plan	No	N/A
E60000217	London Borough of Redbridge	Yes	2018	PLAN	No	N/A
E60000218	London Borough of Richmond upon Thames	Yes	2016	London Plan	No	N/A
E60000198	London Borough of Southwark	Yes	2016	London Plan	No	N/A
E60000199	London Borough of Tower Hamlets	Yes	2016	London Plan	No	N/A
E60000220	London Borough of Waltham Forest	Yes	2016	London Plan	No	N/A
E60000200	London Borough of Wandsworth	Yes	2016	London Plan	No	N/A
E60000145	Luton Borough Council	No	N/A	N/A	No	N/A
E60000259	Maidstone Borough Council	No	Near Future	N/A	No	N/A
E60000138	Malvern Hills District Council	No	N/A	N/A	No	N/A
E60000027	Manchester City Council	Yes	2015	SPD	No	N/A
E60000110	Mansfield District Council	No	No Plans	N/A	NDSS	N/A
E60000224	Medway Council	No	N/A	N/A	NDSS	N/A
E60000089	Melton Borough Council	No	No Plans	N/A	HQI	N/A
E60000314	Mendip District Council	No	N/A	N/A	No	N/A
E60000302	Mid Devon District Council	Yes	2020	PLAN	No	N/A
E60000286	Mid Sussex District Council	Yes	2018	PLAN	No	N/A
E60000004	Middlesbrough Borough Council	No	Near Future	N/A	No	N/A
E60000225	Milton Keynes Council	Yes	2019	PLAN	No	N/A
E60000273	Mole Valley Council	No	Near Future	N/A	No	N/A
E60000249	New Forest District Council	No	N/A	N/A	No	N/A
E60000111	Newark and Sherwood District Council	No	No Plans	N/A	No	N/A
E60000009	Newcastle upon Tyne City Council	Yes	2020	PLAN	No	N/A
E60000120	Newcastle-under-Lyme Council	No	Near Future	N/A	No	N/A
E60000303	North Devon District Council	No	No Plans	N/A	No	N/A
E60000083	North East Derbyshire	No	N/A	N/A	No	N/A
E60000054	North East Lincolnshire Council	No	N/A	N/A	No	N/A
E60000095	North Kesteven District Council	No	Near Future	N/A	No	N/A
E60000055	North Lincolnshire Council	No	N/A	N/A	No	N/A
E60000180	North Norfolk District Council	No	Near Future	N/A	No	N/A
E60000294	North Somerset Council	Yes	2016	PLAN	No	N/A
E60000010	North Tyneside Council	Yes	2018	PLAN	No	100%
E60000125	North Warwickshire Borough Council	No	No Plans	N/A	No	N/A
E60000090	North West Leicestershire	No	N/A	N/A	No	N/A
E60000005	Northumberland County Council	No	N/A	N/A	No	N/A
E60000181	Norwich City Council	Yes	2015	PLAN
E60000075	Nottingham City Council	Yes	2020	PLAN	No	N/A
E60000126	Nuneaton & Bedworth	Yes	2019	PLAN		N/A
E60000091	Oadby & Wigston District Council	No	N/A	SPD	No	N/A
E60000028	Oldham Metropolitan Borough Council	No	Near Future	N/A	No	N/A
E60000266	Oxford City Council	Yes	2020	PLAN	No	N/A
E60000040	Pendle Borough Council	No	N/A	N/A	No	N/A
E60000146	Peterborough City Council	Yes	2019	PLAN	No	N/A
E60000295	Plymouth City Council	Yes	2019	PLAN		N/A
E60000226	Portsmouth City Council	Yes	2015	SPD	No	78%
E60000227	Reading Borough Council	Yes	2019	PLAN	No	N/A
E60000006	Redcar and Cleveland	No	N/A	N/A	No	N/A
E60000274	Reigate and Banstead Borough Council	Yes	2019	PLAN		N/A
E60000042	Ribble Valley Borough Council	No	N/A	N/A	No	N/A
E60000029	Rochdale Metropolitan Borough Council	No	N/A	N/A	No	N/A
E60000043	Rossendale	No	No Plans	N/A	No	N/A
E60000240	Rother District Council	Yes	2019	PLAN		N/A
E60000066	Rotherham Metropolitan Borough Council	No	N/A	N/A	No	N/A
E60000194	Royal Borough of Kensington & Chelsea	Yes	2019	PLAN		N/A
E60000215	Royal Borough of Kingston upon Thames	Yes	2016	London Plan	No
E60000231	Royal Borough of Windsor and Maidenhead	Yes	N/A	SPD		N/A
E60000127	Rugby Borough Council	No	No Plans	N/A	No	N/A
E60000275	Runnymede Borough Council	Yes	2020	PLAN	No	N/A
E60000112	Rushcliffe Council	No	N/A	N/A	No	N/A
E60000250	Rushmoor Borough Council	Yes	2019	PLAN	No	N/A
E60000076	Rutland County Council	No	N/A	N/A	No	N/A
E60000061	Ryedale District Council	No	N/A	N/A	No	N/A
E60000030	Salford City Council	Yes	2023	PLAN	No	N/A
E60000133	Sandwell Metropolitan Borough Council	No	2025	N/A	Parker Morris	N/A
E60000062	Scarborough Borough Council	No	Near Future	N/A	No	N/A
E60000315	Sedgemoor District Council	No	N/A	N/A	Amenity standards	N/A
E60000049	Sefton Metropolitan Borough Council	No	N/A	N/A	HMO	N/A
E60000063	Selby	No	N/A	N/A	No	N/A
E60000260	Sevenoaks District Council	No	N/A	N/A	No	N/A
E60000067	Sheffield City Council	No	2024	N/A	No	N/A
E60000114	Shropshire Council	No	Near Future	N/A	No	N/A
E60000228	Slough Borough Council	Yes	2018	SPD	No	N/A
E60000134	Solihull Metropolitan Borough Council	No	Near Future	N/A	No	N/A
E60000153	South Cambridgeshire	Yes	2018	PLAN		N/A
E60000296	South Gloucestershire District Council	No	N/A	N/A	No	N/A
E60000304	South Hams District Council	Yes	2019	PLAN	No	N/A
E60000096	South Holland	No	N/A	N/A	No	N/A
E60000097	South Kesteven	No	N/A	N/A	No	N/A
E60000024	South Lakeland District Council	No	N/A	N/A	No	N/A
E60000267	South Oxfordshire District Council	Yes	2020	PLAN	No	N/A
E60000044	South Ribble Borough Council	No	N/A	N/A	No	N/A
E60000317	South Somerset District Council	No	N/A	N/A	No	N/A
E60000121	South Staffordshire	Yes	2015	PLAN	No	62%
E60000011	South Tyneside Metropolitan Borough Council	No	N/A	N/A	No	N/A
E60000229	Southampton City Council	No	N/A	N/A	No	N/A
E60000147	Southend-on-Sea Council	Yes	2015	SPD	No	N/A
E60000276	Spelthorne Borough Council	Yes	2015	SPD	No	N/A
E60000171	St Albans City & District Council	No	2025	N/A	No	N/A
E60000122	Stafford Borough Council	No	Near Future	N/A	No	N/A
E60000123	Staffordshire Moorlands District Council	Yes	2020	PLAN	No	N/A
E60000115	Stoke-on-Trent City Council	No	Near Future	N/A	NDSS	N/A
E60000128	Stratford-on-Avon	No	N/A	N/A	NDSS	N/A
E60000312	Stroud District Council	No	N/A	N/A	No	N/A
E60000184	Suffolk Coastal District Council	No	N/A	N/A	NDSS	N/A
E60000012	Sunderland City Council	Yes	2020	PLAN	No	Yes
E60000277	Surrey Heath Borough Council	No	Near Future	N/A	No	N/A
E60000261	Swale Borough Council	No	N/A	N/A	No	N/A
E60000297	Swindon Borough Council	Yes	2016	SPD	No	N/A
E60000032	Tameside Metropolitan Borough Council	No	Near Future	N/A	No	N/A
E60000278	Tandridge District Council	No	N/A	N/A	No	N/A
E60000305	Teignbridge District Council	No	N/A	N/A	No	N/A
E60000116	Telford & Wrekin Council	Yes	2018	PLAN	No	N/A
E60000164	Tendring District Council	Yes	2022	PLAN	No	N/A
E60000251	Test Valley Borough Council	No	No Plans	N/A	No	N/A
E60000262	Thanet District Council	Yes	2020	PLAN	No	N/A
E60000173	Three Rivers District Council	No	Near Future	N/A	No	N/A
E60000148	Thurrock Council	No	No Plans	N/A	Extensions	N/A
E60000263	Tonbridge and Malling Borough Council	No	N/A	N/A	No	N/A
E60000306	Torridge District Council	Yes	2022	SPD	No	N/A
E60000033	Trafford Council	No	Near Future	N/A	No	N/A
E60000264	Tunbridge Wells Borough Council	No	No Plans	N/A	No	N/A
E60000165	Uttlesford District Council	No	No Plans	N/A	No	N/A
E60000072	Wakefield City Metropolitan District Council	No	No Plans	N/A	No	N/A
E60000135	Walsall Metropolitan Borough Council	No	No Plans	N/A	No	N/A
E60000018	Warrington Council	Partially	2021	SPD	No	N/A
E60000129	Warwick District Council	No	N/A	N/A	No	N/A
E60000174	Watford Borough Council	Yes	2022	PLAN	Part M	N/A
E60000279	Waverley Borough Council	Yes	2023	PLAN	No	N/A
E60000241	Wealden District Council	No	Near Future	N/A	No	N/A
E60000175	Welwyn Hatfield Council	No	Near Future	N/A	No	N/A
E60000230	West Berkshire Council	No	Near Future	N/A	No	N/A
E60000307	West Devon Borough Council	Yes	2019	PLAN	No	N/A
E60000045	West Lancashire District Council	No	N/A	N/A	No	N/A
E60000098	West Lindsey	No	Near Future	N/A	No	N/A
E60000269	West Oxfordshire	No	N/A	N/A	No	N/A
E60000034	Wigan Metropolitan Borough	No	N/A	N/A	No	N/A
E60000299	Wiltshire Council	No	N/A	N/A	No	N/A
E60000252	Winchester City Council	Yes	2017	PLAN	No	N/A
E60000051	Wirral Metropolitan Borough	No	Near Future	N/A	No	N/A
E60000280	Woking Borough Council	No	N/A	N/A	M4(2)	N/A
E60000232	Wokingham Council	No	N/A	N/A	No	N/A
E60000136	Wolverhampton City Council	No	N/A	N/A	No	N/A
E60000140	Worcestershire County Council	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A
E60000287	Worthing Borough Council	Yes	2021	PLAN	No	N/A
E60000141	Wychavon District Council	No	N/A	N/A	No	N/A
E60000046	Wyre Borough Council	No	N/A	N/A	No	N/A
E60000142	Wyre Forest District Council	Yes	2022	PLAN	No	N/A