Planning rules overhauled for ‘fastest infrastructure building in a generation’
Summary
The government has announced planning reforms for Nationally Significant Infrastructure Projects that will remove mandatory pre-application consultation requirements and replace them with earlier technical input and advice from the Planning Inspectorate. The changes, delivered through the Planning and Infrastructure Act, are intended to speed up examinations, reduce delays and lower costs for major infrastructure schemes including transport, energy and data centres.
Why it matters
Surveyors may see knock-on effects from faster-moving infrastructure proposals, particularly where schemes affect local land use, access, amenity and surrounding property values. The reforms also change how local impacts are identified and documented, which may influence the evidence base used in planning and valuation contexts.
Key points
- Mandatory pre-application consultation for NSIPs will be removed.
- Planning Inspectorate input will move earlier in the process through technical advice.
- Local Impact Reports are encouraged earlier, including draft versions.
- Data centres can now opt into the NSIP regime.
- Local authorities can set fees for NSIP-related work and bid for capacity funding.
This is an RPSA summary of a publicly available article. The full content remains with the original publisher.
