Planning reforms to fast track water and energy schemes

Delivering nationally significant energy, water and wastewater infrastructure projects will be accelerated under planning reforms unveiled by the government.

Reforms cover changes to the development consent order (DCO) application process, environmental assessments and updating National Policy Statements.

A new fast-track application mechanism is earmarked to be piloted from September to streamline the planning process for large-scale infrastructure schemes with powers for departmental heads to set shorter timelines for certain projects.

Under the current system, projects deemed to be of national significance must be examined by the Planning Inspectorate before being granted a DCO by the relevant secretary of state.

An increasing number of DCO applications has led to delays in the system with projects now typically taking more than four years to be processed, almost double the two-and-a-half year timespan recorded in 2012.

According to the government’s Action plan for nationally significant infrastructure projects, delays to the current process are most prominent in offshore wind developments.

Proposed reforms include introducing a more robust pre-application process “to incentivise statutory consultees and infrastructure developers to address often complex issues before an application is submitted”. The government believes this will lead to shorter examination timeframes which will ultimately speed up the whole process.

The government has also vowed to implement a new Offshore Wind Environmental Improvement Package to accelerate the delivery of new offshore wind infrastructure which is often delayed by environmental concerns. The action plan adds that Defra is developing a “library of strategic compensation measures where impacts on Marine Protected Areas cannot be avoided, reduced or mitigated and imperative reasons of overriding public interest considerations apply”.

Defra is also seeking powers through the Energy Bill to make changes to the Habitats Regulations Assessment process specifically for offshore wind developments.

The government’s action plan also sets out reforms to the process of setting National Policy statements, which unpin investment decisions in any given sector. Under the action plan, the government has vowed to review policy statements “on a more regular basis”.

Departments are currently progressing with reviews of the Energy and National Networks National Policy Statements which the government said will be published for consultation soon. Furthermore, the government said it intends to designate and publish a new National Policy Statement on water resources in 2023.

To address the issues, the government has outlined a five step plan, which includes:

1. Setting a clear strategic direction, where National Policy Statements and wider government policy reduce the policy ambiguity faced by individual projects.
2. Bringing forward operational reforms to support faster consenting with an emphasis on delivering proportionate examinations for all projects, strengthening pre-application advice and introducing a fast-track consenting timeframe for projects that meet quality criteria.
3. Realising better outcomes for the environment replacing the cumbersome environmental assessment processes with new Environmental Outcomes Reports; reviewing the protected sites and species policy framework (including Habitats Regulations Assessment (HRA), and introducing biodiversity net gain and developing principles for marine net gain for NSIPs.
4. Recognising the role of local authorities and strengthening community engagement with NSIPs, with greater support and measures to embed community input and benefits much earlier in the process.
5. Improving system-wide capacity and capability, including through developing skills and training and extending proportionate cost recovery by the Planning Inspectorate and key statutory consultees to support effective preparation and examination of NSIPs and build resilience into the system.