A coalition of designers, consultants and industry figures has written to Planning Minister Matthew Pennycook calling for living walls to be explicitly named as green infrastructure in the revised National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF).
The letter, organised by living wall company Viritopia, argues that without consistent recognition, vertical greening is too often value-engineered out of schemes — despite measurable benefits to air quality, surface-water runoff and urban biodiversity.
Why a wording change matters
Planners need a defensible basis to weigh design features. Naming living walls as green infrastructure would give local authorities a clear footing to consider them in biodiversity net gain (BNG), urban greening factor calculations, and sustainable drainage strategies.
For developers, that translates into greater certainty at pre-app and a stronger argument for retaining living walls through cost-control reviews.
Practical implications for commercial schemes
Living walls are increasingly viable on retrofit office facades, logistics frontages and BTR podium decks. Used well, they can support BNG numbers, contribute to overheating mitigation, and improve marketing perception of an asset.
We expect to see policy momentum here regardless of the NPPF outcome, and recommend that landlords planning major refurbishments stress-test their schemes against an 'enhanced green infrastructure' planning environment.