Planning consultations for major infrastructure to be streamlined
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.”
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