On Tuesday 11 March 2025 the UK government published the Planning and Infrastructure Bill.  Its primary objective is to streamline planning processes to support the construction of 1.5 million homes by 2030 and expedite critical infrastructure projects.  Principally, the Bill proposes revisions to planning laws, aims to reduce obstacles and make consultation requirements more proportionate. 

The Bill is long and wide reaching.  However, we provide a summary of some of its key components below:

Modernising Planning Committees: The Bill proposes a national scheme of delegation in England, allowing professional planners to determine more routine applications, thereby enabling planning committees to focus on more significant projects.  Proposals include:

• National scheme of delegation setting out which types of applications should be determined by planning committee;
• Controls over the size of planning committees;
• Mandatory training for planning committee members.

Fees for Planning Applications: Provides the Secretary of State with a power to sub-delegate the setting of fees or charges to Local Planning Authorities (LPAs).  Planning fees are currently set nationally in England by central government, which does not take into account local variations in costs of running planning services. The Bill empowers LPAs to set their own planning fees that are neither set too high, so as to deter development, nor too low, to not adequately cover the delivery of the planning application service.  When setting a planning fee or charge, the fee must be set with a view to ensuring that it does not exceed cost recovery.  The Secretary of State will be given the power to direct an LPA to amend their planning fees or charges when it is considered appropriate to do so.

By meeting the costs to deliver the planning application service, it is expected that LPAs will improve performance in terms of both timeliness and quality of decision-making.

Strategic Planning: Provide for the implementation of a system of strategic planning for England. The Bill will require combined authorities and combined county authorities, both mayoral and non-mayoral, to produce a Strategic Development Strategy (SDS).

The scope and content of an SDS will be kept at a strategic level to preserve the role of the local plan. This includes not being able to allocate specific sites. Once the SDS is adopted, it will become part of the development plan for the area and local plans will need to be in general conformity with it.

Empowering Local Authorities: Councils will have enhanced compulsory purchase powers to acquire land, facilitating more efficient land assembly for development.  Where appropriate Inspectors, Councils or Mayors, will take decisions instead of the Secretary of State.

Prioritising Renewable Energy Projects: The Bill aims to streamline processes for large-scale infrastructure projects, aiming to halve the approval time for major developments. Its measures include:

• Strengthening the policy framework for National Policy Statements (NPSs) to require that each NPS is updated at least every five years.
• Amending the pre-application consultation and acceptance stages for Development Consent Orders (DCOs). 'Gold-plating' and disproportionately lengthy consultation delays projects and can confuse communities.  The Bill's measures include amending the application acceptance requirements to a more proportionate approach; enabling minor changes to the application in advance of a decision; and revising requirements around consultation reports to reduce their length and make them more accessible.
• The Bill amends the Planning Act 2008 to add a power for the Secretary of State to, on a case-by-case basis, disapply the requirement for development consent for specified development.  The effect will mean that an alternative consenting route, such as the Town and Country Planning Act 1990 could be used. This seeks to create a more flexible regime so that it can accommodate the complexity and volume of development expected over the coming years.
• Streamlining the judicial review process including removing the right to appeal for cases deemed totally without merit at the oral permission hearing.

Reforming Grid Connection Processes: The Bill proposes a shift to a "first ready, first connected" system for clean power projects, replacing the current "first come, first served" approach. This change aims to expedite connections to the National Grid.

Establishing a Nature Restoration Fund: The Bill introduces a Nature Restoration Fund (NRF) for England. This will allow developers to contribute to broader conservation efforts with payments into the fund allowing building to proceed, while wider action is taken to secure the environmental improvements.  The NRF will be made up of contributions from developers through a nature restoration levy. This will provide funding for Environmental Delivery Plans (EDPs) prepared by Natural England, that will set out the strategic action to be taken to address the impact that development has on a protected site or species.   Where an EDP is in place and a developer utilises it, the developer would no longer be required to undertake their own assessments, or deliver project-specific interventions, for issues addressed by the EDP.

Development Corporation reforms: Development corporations are statutory bodies established for the purpose of urban development and regeneration. They have been historically important for delivering large-scale and complex regeneration and property development projects.  The Bill will enable greater flexibility for development corporations in terms of the variety, extent and types of the geographical areas over which they can operate.

Deputy Prime Minister and Secretary of State for Housing, Angela Rayner said:

“We're creating the biggest building boom in a generation - as a major step forward in getting Britain building again and unleashing economic growth in every corner of the country, by lifting the bureaucratic burden which has been holding back developments for too long.

The Planning and Infrastructure Bill will unleash seismic reforms to help builders get shovels in the ground quicker to build more homes, and the vital infrastructure we need to improve transport links and make Britain a clean energy superpower to protect billpayers.

It will help us to deliver the 1.5 million homes we have committed to so we can tackle the housing crisis we have inherited head on – not only for people desperate to buy a home, but for the families and young children stuck in temporary accommodation and in need of a safe, secure roof over their heads.

These reforms are at the heart of our Plan for Change, ensuring we are backing the builders, taking on the blockers, and delivering the homes and infrastructure this country so badly needs.”

CarneySweeney will be closely following the Bill's progress through Parliament in the coming months. 

For further information please don't hesitate to contact our team.