Faster infrastructure delivery is crucial to governments’ ability to meet their strategic objectives.
The net zero transition needs to move at pace. Infrastructure is also key to improving resilience and economic growth.
Delays increase costs, which governments cannot afford amid high inflation and spending constraints. They also undermine public confidence and delay benefits.
The UK’s glacial and inflexible planning system is part of the problem. But the government has been working to improve matters.
Last year the National Infrastructure Commission (NIC) pinpointed the fact that the UK’s out of date planning guidance has made decision making harder and legal challenges to Nationally Significant Infrastructure Projects (NSIPs) more likely.
First introduced under the Planning Act 2008, the NSIP regime worked well initially and built a strong record for offering high quality consents, being robust to legal challenges and providing certainty of timescales for investors.
But since 2012, consenting times have risen by 65% – to more than four years on average – and the rate of judicial reviews has jumped from 10% to 58%.
The government has listened to the NIC’s recommendations and has begun implementing reforms.
If successful, these could help reduce consenting times to two and half years, on average.
The National Networks National Policy Statement (NNNPS), which covers road and rail planning, has been updated for the first time since it was published in 2015.
Now less focused on reducing congestion, it broadens the challenges which may require the development of rail and road infrastructure to include economic growth, net zero and resilience.
The UK’s out of date planning guidance has made decision making harder
Other changes include more guidance on the requirement for whole life carbon assessment and using the PAS 2080 standard as best practice for managing and reducing carbon in the built environment.
The update should ensure planning decisions for road and rail align with the UK’s legally binding net zero target, reducing the likelihood of judicial reviews.
Crucially, the revised NNNPS includes a commitment that it will be reviewed at least every five years to ensure it remains appropriate, something the ICE had called for.
The government will also explore how future National Policy Statement (NPS) reviews could be more flexible and streamlined.
The Energy NPSs have also been updated to be net zero aligned. Low carbon infrastructure has been designated a “Critical National Priority”.
The government will also act on the Electricity Networks Commissioner’s proposals to halve the time it takes to build new transmission infrastructure from around 14 years to seven.
They include a new Strategic Spatial Energy Plan to bridge the gap between government policy and infrastructure development.
The spatial plan will be referenced in future NPSs to give it weight in the planning system and help speed up decision making.
Similar planning delays are holding up critical infrastructure in New Zealand. Its government has introduced the Fast Track Approvals Bill for projects with regional or national significance.
It will allow ministers to refer projects to an expert panel to review projects in detail within six months. The panel would then recommend whether a project should be approved and what conditions may be required to manage adverse effects. The final decision would then be taken by the ministers.
The challenge for governments all over the world is finding the balance between transparent decision making, the wider benefits infrastructure investment brings, the need to protect the environment and communities, and the need to pick up the pace on progress.
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