Planning ‘red tape’ could be cut to speed up major energy projects

Ministers are planning an overhaul of the planning process, with proposals that would create a new fast-track route for major infrastructure projects.

The changes, the latest set of planning reforms announced by the Government, promise to bypass “slow and burdensome” planning processes for major works such as offshore wind farms, transport connections, waste facilities and nuclear power stations.

The Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities (DLUHC) said the reforms would speed up planning for projects that provide community and environmental benefits by cutting red tape.

The plans are contained in the Nationally Significant Infrastructure Projects consultation, which opens on Tuesday and closes in mid-September.

Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said: “Strong communities need to be supported by vital infrastructure; the transport links, power plants and buildings that underpin our everyday lives.

“Significant infrastructure projects don’t just ensure that people can get to work easily, do their recycling, and power their homes. They also create jobs, grow our economy, and help us become fit for the future.”

He added: “It is right that we make it as easy as possible for these important projects to be approved and delivered across the country.”

The projects earmarked for a faster approvals process are any large-scale developments linked to energy, transport, water or waste.

The changes would see the streamlining of the consent process from beginning to end, with hopes that a fast-track route to consent can halve the time taken for decisions on some projects to be determined.

Ministers are also promising to “bolster” resources across the planning system, including in the Planning Inspectorate.

Developers will also be incentivised to engage “more proactively and effectively” with local authorities.

Housing Secretary Michael Gove said: “It is vital we can deliver the major infrastructure we need to regenerate our communities and level up.

“But local authorities and planners face barriers and red tape which have resulted in delays impacting on homeowners and housebuilders alike.”

It comes after Mr Gove on Monday set out measures including on leasehold reform, simplifying planning procedures, expanding planning capacity, and regenerating and reviving inner cities.

He claimed that a new “inner city renaissance” would be the most important part of the strategy, arguing for an approach that would use “all of the levers that we have to promote urban regeneration rather than swallowing up virgin land”.