In a press conference this morning, chancellor Rachel Reeves announced a series of planning reforms impacting both housing and energy projects, stating that “the system needs a new signal – this is that signal”.
She said: “As of today, we are ending the absurd ban on new onshore wind in England. We will also go further and consult on bringing onshore wind back into the nationally significant infrastructure projects (NSIP) regime, meaning decisions on large developments will be taken nationally, not locally.”
Currently, planning policy includes two tests, set out in footnotes of the National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF), that apply only to onshore wind. These notes set a higher bar than exists for other forms of development, and have essentially created a planning system where any local opposition to an onshore project has meant it could not proceed.
As of today, the government has issued a policy statement confirming that these policy tests “no longer apply”, and that doing so means that “onshore wind applications will be treated in the same way as other energy development proposals”.
These changes take effect today, and will also be reflected in the forthcoming NPPF update that the government is set to consult on. The government has also said it will confirm this position to Parliament on 18 July, following the King’s Speech.
Elsewhere in her speech, Reeves said that the Labour government “will give priority to energy projects in the system to ensure that they make swift progress, and we will build on the spatial plan for energy by expanding this to other infrastructure sectors”.
She added that the secretary of state for transport, Louise Haigh, and the secretary of state for energy security and net zero (DESNZ), Ed Miliband, will “prioritise decisions on infrastructure projects that have been sitting unresolved for far too long”.
There are currently 12 major infrastructure projects sitting in Whitehall awaiting approval, and more than half of these are sitting in the DESNZ intray. Of those, almost all relate to solar farms, which have proved locally unpopular and a source of contention over recent years.
The UK’s largest solar project approved to date is the 491-hectare Cleve Hill Solar Park on the north Kent coast, which was approved by the then business secretary Alok Sharma in May 2020.
However, more than one of the projects sitting on Miliband’s desk would outstrip Cleve Hill in size if approved.
Reeves added that the new government would set out its policy intentions for critical infrastructure “in the coming months”, ahead of updating relevant national policy statements within the year.
The chancellor said she is “not naive” to the fact that there will be opposition to some of these reforms, and that “we must acknowledge that trade-offs always exist”.
She continued: “Any development may have environmental consequences, place pressure on services, arouse voices of local opposition,” she said, adding: “We will not succumb to a status quo which responds to the existence of trade-offs by always saying no, and relegates the national interest below other priorities.
“This Labour government has been elected to get things done, to get Britain building again. We will make those tough decisions to realise that mandate.”
There has been a largely positive initial reaction to Reeve’s proposal to lift the onshore wind moratorium, with Sarah Merrick, founder and chief executive of Ripple Energy, stating that the move “signals a bright new dawn for wind energy, putting the dark days of hostility towards development behind us”.
Mike Childs, head of science, policy and research at Friends of the Earth, said that in lifting the ban, Labour is “making an important stride towards delivering on our climate goals, while also paving the way for lower bills, as renewables produce some of the cheapest and cleanest energy available”.
In April, research by the NGO found that utilising less than 3% of land in England for onshore wind and solar could produce 13 times more clean energy than currently generated, according to Childs.
However, the Institute of Environmental Management & Assessment (IEMA), which represents almost 22,000 environment and sustainability professionals, warned against watering down oversight and environmental protections in the planning system.
IEMA deputy chief executive, Martin Baxter, said: “Kick-starting economic growth is the number one mission of the incoming Labour Party but that growth must be green.
“Sensible planning reform can unlock the potential of the green economy, accelerating the delivery of low carbon infrastructure and the development of new homes that are consistent with net zero carbon reduction targets under a Future Homes Standard,” he said, adding that “any reforms need to ensure the planning system continues to balance economic growth, the needs and rights of local people, and importantly environmental enhancement.”