The Department for Communities and Local Government published the NATIONAL PLANNING POLICY FRAMEWORK 27 March 2012 it is aimed at simplifying the planning process.
The immediate benefit is that it states
Annex 3: Documents replaced by this Framework
1. Planning Policy Statement: Delivering Sustainable Development (31 January 2005)
2. Planning Policy Statement: Planning and Climate Change – Supplement to Planning Policy Statement 1 (17 December 2007)
3. Planning Policy Guidance 2: Green Belts (24 January 1995)
4. Planning Policy Statement 3: Housing (9 June 2011)
5. Planning Policy Statement 4: Planning for Sustainable Economic Growth (29 December 2009)
6. Planning Policy Statement 5: Planning for the Historic Environment (23 March 2010)
7. Planning Policy Statement 7: Sustainable Development in Rural Areas (3 August 2004)
8. Planning Policy Guidance 8: Telecommunications (23 August 2001)
9. Planning Policy Statement 9: Biodiversity and Geological Conservation (16 August 2005)
10. Planning Policy Statement 12: Local Spatial Planning (4 June 2008)
11. Planning Policy Guidance 13: Transport (3 January 2011)
12. Planning Policy Guidance 14: Development on Unstable Land (30 April 1990)
13. Planning Policy Guidance 17: Planning for Open Space, Sport and Recreation (24 July 2002)
14. Planning Policy Guidance 18: Enforcing Planning Control (20 December 1991)
15. Planning Policy Guidance 19: Outdoor Advertisement Control (23 March 1992)
16. Planning Policy Guidance 20: Coastal Planning (1 October 1992)
17. Planning Policy Statement 22: Renewable Energy (10 August 2004)
18. Planning Policy Statement 23: Planning and Pollution Control(3 November 2004)
19. Planning Policy Guidance 24: Planning and Noise (3 October 1994)
20. Planning Policy Statement 25: Development and Flood Risk (29 March 2010)
21. Planning Policy Statement 25 Supplement: Development and Coastal Change (9 March 2010)
22. Minerals Policy Statement 1: Planning and Minerals (13 November 2006)
23. Minerals Policy Statement 2: Controlling and Mitigating the Environmental Effects of Minerals Extraction In England. This includes its Annex 1: Dust and Annex 2: Noise (23 March 2005 - Annex 1: 23 March 2005 and Annex 2: 23 May 2005)
24. Minerals Planning Guidance 2: Applications, permissions and conditions (10 July 1998)
25. Minerals Planning Guidance 3: Coal Mining and Colliery Spoil Disposal (30 March 1999)
26. Minerals Planning Guidance 5: Stability in surface mineral workings and tips (28 January 2000)
27. Minerals Planning Guidance 7: Reclamation of minerals workings (29 November 1996)
28. Minerals Planning Guidance 10: Provision of raw material for the cement industry (20 November 1991)
29. Minerals Planning Guidance 13: Guidance for peat provision in England (13 July 1995)
30. Minerals Planning Guidance 15: Provision of silica sand in England (23 September 1996)
31. Circular 05/2005: Planning Obligations (18 July 2005)
32. Government Office London Circular 1/2008: Strategic Planning in London (4 April 2008)
33. Letter to Chief Planning Officers: Town and Country Planning (Electronic Communications) (England) Order 2003 (2 April 2003)
34. Letter to Chief Planning Officers: Planning Obligations and Planning Registers (3 April 2002)
35. Letter to Chief Planning Officers: Model Planning Conditions for development on land affected by contamination (30 May 2008)
36. Letter to Chief Planning Officers: Planning for Housing and Economic Recovery (12 May 2009)
37. Letter to Chief Planning Officers: Development and Flood Risk – Update to the Practice Guide to Planning Policy Statement 25 (14 December 2009)
38. Letter to Chief Planning Officers: Implementation of Planning Policy Statement 25 (PPS25) – Development and Flood Risk (7 May 2009)
39. Letter to Chief Planning Officers: The Planning Bill – delivering well designed homes and high quality places (23 February 2009)
40. Letter to Chief Planning Officers: Planning and Climate Change – Update (20 January 2009)
41. Letter to Chief Planning Officers: New powers for local authorities to stop‘garden- grabbing’ (15 June 2010)
42. Letter to Chief Planning Officer: Area Based Grant: Climate Change New Burdens (14 January 2010)
43. Letter to Chief Planning Officers: The Localism Bill (15 December 2010)
44. Letter to Chief Planning Officers: Planning policy on residential parking standards, parking charges, and electric vehicle charging infrastructure (14 January 2011)
Further detail will follow