Pettigrew: Urgent planning action needed to meet climate goals

The UK needs to take urgent action on implementing planning reforms if it is going to meet its climate goals, National Grid chief executive John Pettigrew has warned.

In particular, Pettigrew has called on the government to finalise its updated national policy statements (NPSs) before the end of the year.

Speaking at Energy UK’s annual conference, Pettigrew warned that failing to take urgent action would result in “serious consequences” for the UK’s net zero ambitions.

He added that delaying planning reforms would also have a detrimental impact on investment coming into the sector.

“We’ve seen positive intentions around planning reform and we welcome the recognition of the need for change. But now we need to move to action,” he said.

“I believe refreshed national policy statements will provide greater clarity and authority […] and need to be in place by the end of this year to provide a clear framework to support [infrastructure projects’] timely delivery.

“This is not a deadline that can be missed if we are to avoid the potential for significant delay.”

The NPSs must also provide support for the proposed strategic plans designed to speed up connections queues, according to Pettigrew.

He added: “We must also move forward with the strategic spatial energy plan which together with the centralised strategic network plan will set out what needs to be built and where.

“For the centralised strategic network plan to be effective it is critical that it is endorsed in NPSs to make sure it has weight in planning law.”

Pettigrew said that “these actions need to start right now”, warning that “if we are going to meet the aspirations and targets that have been set by government, we have to be bolder and braver not just in our thinking but in the pace of delivery”.

“For every consultation that is delayed, for every decision that’s pushed back a few months, there are very real consequences for the delivery of our decarbonisation goals,” Pettigrew added.

“For me we are past the point of debate, we now need urgent decisions and urgent progress. Without this urgent progress, when you consider the scale of the investment that’s needed, we’re at risk of not only missing the climate goals, but also the economic opportunity to deliver for this country.”

Updating the NPS “urgently and regularly thereafter” was one of the recommendations made in Nick Winser’s review of the sector earlier this year.

Speaking at the conference, Winser added that the planning system is not completely broken and that it just “needs oiling […] not completely rewriting”.

He added that the proposed strategic spatial energy plan will “provide the oil to go into the planning system”.