Planning consultations for major infrastructure to be streamlined

Planning disputes on new build land

Robert Bruce, a planning and infrastructure partner at law firm Freeths LLP, said he:

“Welcomed the change as a significant step to speeding up the DCO process and the focus on the quality and effectiveness of the consultation, rather than box ticking and a risk averse approach to pre-application consultation due to the current legal requirement. The Ministerial Statement announcing the proposed change to be made to the Planning and Infrastructure Bill to remove the current statutory requirement for pre-application consultation makes clear the Government still expects meaningful consultation for NSIPs and will publish statutory guidance setting out the strong expectation that applicants for DCOs undertake pre-application consultation, together with the Planning Inspectorate continuing to assess whether DCO applications are suitable for examination.”

He commented that “Whilst the change should help significantly with speeding up the process, it is clear applying for a DCO will still be a lengthy and complex process. Whilst rightly ambitious, I very much doubt that the Government is likely to meet its stated pledge of 150 planning decisions on major infrastructure projects this Parliament, given there’s only been 145 decisions on DCO applications since 2008.”

EAN Content

Content shared by this account is either news shared free by third parties or sponsored (paid for) content from third parties. Please be advised that links to third party websites are not endorsed by Estate Agent Networking - Please do your own research before committing to any third party business promoted on our website. As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases.

You May Also Enjoy

Home and Living

Kitchen Trade Expert Shares Five Benefits of Fully Assembled Units

The UK kitchen and bedroom fitting sector is currently facing a number of challenges. The UK Trade Skills Index 2023 report revealed that 937,000 new workers will be needed in the construction and trade industries by 2032 to meet the demands of the sector, impacted by the widening skills loss posed by Brexit, an ageing…
Read More
Breaking News

Why are HMO numbers falling?

The latest research from COHO, the HMO management platform, reveals that despite little change in tenant demand, house share availability has dropped by almost -60% in some parts of England, raising the question of whether we’re seeing an HMO landlord exodus. COHO’s analysis of house share listings data* shows that in England, the number of…
Read More
Breaking News

Only 27% of homes have been fixed in a £1.8bn Govt programme

Report shows only 27% of homes have been fixed in a £1.8bn Govt programme, as red tape and asbestos keep thousands in the cold Thousands of homes will face another winter of fuel poverty due to a raft of failures as scheme to fix them hits buffers Hundreds of millions of pounds of allocated grant…
Read More
Breaking News

UK House Price Index for July 2025

The latest index shows that: – The average monthly rate of house price growth in July was +0.3%. The average annual rate of house price growth in July was +2.8%, down slightly from +3.6% in June. As a result, the average UK house price sits at £269,735.   Director of Benham and Reeves, Marc von…
Read More
Breaking News

ONS House Price Index – Thoughts from the Industry

Thoughts from the Industry about the latest ONS House Price Index. Nathan Emerson, CEO of Propertymark: “It is positive to see the housing market progressing forward in strength. As we move towards the autumn months, hopefully this momentum will continue. “There continues to be two factors that may weigh heavily on consumers’ minds as they…
Read More
Overseas Property

European capitals hold £76bn worth of property potential

The latest market insight from international property consultancy, Astons, reveals that across seven major European capital cities for property investment activity, the current market holds £75.8bn worth of opportunities. Astons has analysed the current property markets in seven major European capital cities* to see which have the most residential listings and therefore offer the greatest…
Read More