Planning Bill amendments to streamline planning process

The Government has announced several major amendments to the Planning and Infrastructure Bill, which will further streamline the planning process.

These include reducing the length of consultation, stripping uncooperative councils of the right to make certain decisions, and paring back the impact and ability to raise legal disputes.

The Bill, announced as part of the King’s Speech in July 2024, is designed to fast-track major infrastructure projects deemed to be of national significance, make grid connections and pylon construction easier, and give greater compulsory purchase and planning fee setting power to local authorities.

Chief executive of the National Federation of Builders, Richard Beresford, said: “Planning reform was never going to be a quick endeavour because our sclerotic, siloed system needs careful analysis to unpick and understand. The Government should be commended on recognising this and taking a proactive approach to the Planning and Infrastructure Bill because it will be an integral piece of legislation in ensuring all projects can be delivered more quickly.”

Proposed amendments to Planning and Infrastructure Bill, include:

• ‘Holding directions’ which stop local planning authorities from considering an application can now be issued by ministers while they decide whether to ‘call-in’ the application, where previously, they were only able to do this when a council was set to approve it.
• Enabling non-water companies to build reservoirs, with all such developments being considered ‘nationally significant infrastructure projects’.
• Allowing Natural England to decline requests from local authorities to comment on nature-related planning applications.
• Automatic extensions of the time for implementing planning permission where it is challenged in legal proceedings.
• Cutting back legal challenges for major infrastructure projects from three to one and slashing a year off the statutory pre-consultation period.

The Government believes these new tweaks will remove barriers to their plans for economic growth and fulfil it 1.5 million homes target by the end of the Parliament.