What is a well-connected station in the 2026 NPPF?
A railway station or underground, tram or light rail stop located within one of the top 80 Travel to Work Areas by Gross Value Added, and served in the normal weekday timetable throughout the daytime by at least 4 trains or trams per hour overall, or at least 2 per hour in any one direction. Planned upgrades or an operator agreement can satisfy the frequency limb.
How far is walking distance
Around 800 metres. Where topography, route availability and quality, or physical barriers would prevent or discourage walking from up to that distance, a 10 minute walk time applies instead. A dual carriageway, a river without a crossing, or a steep hill can therefore shorten the effective distance.
The frequency test is a matter of fact
This is not a planning judgement. You can check it against a timetable. Count weekday daytime departures and divide, then check whether the overall figure reaches the threshold or whether any single direction does.
Doubling the minimum frequency matters in an unexpected way: it raises the minimum density you have to build to, rather than relaxing anything.
The travel-to-work area ranking is fixed
The ranking uses published economic output data for travel-to-work areas, and a footnote fixes which dataset applies: the 2023 figures continue to be used until the day after the 2028 data is published, and thereafter the dataset is fixed for each five year period.
So this half of the test does not move year to year, which makes it worth establishing once for a site rather than rechecking.
Related
Reflects the National Planning Policy Framework (2026), published 17 August 2026. This page last reviewed 18 August 2026. Read the framework.