The Commission has welcomed the publication today (11 March) of details of the government’s Planning & Infrastructure Bill, which has been introduced to Parliament.

The Bill sets out a range of measures designed to deliver the government’s programme of housebuilding and infrastructure reforms through reforming the operation of the planning system, many of which reflect recommendations made in the Commission’s second National Infrastructure Assessment. Among the measures included in the Bill are:

• Bill discounts for residents and funding of local projects for communities hosting new energy generation and transmission infrastructure
• Introduction of strategic spatial development strategies across England to better join up development and infrastructure needs
• A ‘first ready, first connected’ approach giving priority connections to the power grid for clean energy projects
• National delegation of planning committees to streamline housing planning decisions
• A Nature Restoration Fund to support larger environmental interventions that secure environmental improvements
• More streamlined consultations for Nationally Significant Infrastructure Projects, including an overhaul of the system for challenging consenting decisions.

Sir John Armitt, Chair of the National Infrastructure Commission said:

“This bold and broad-ranging package of measures should deliver a planning system optimised to enable the significant amounts of new energy, transport and water infrastructure the country will need to thrive over the long term.

“I’m pleased government has heeded our call to provide benefits to individuals and communities hosting new energy infrastructure, and the figures outlined should win over doubters. By adopting a spatial approach to planning decisions, enabling more streamlined decisions on major infrastructure projects and funding better environmental mitigation, the Bill covers all the bases for an infrastructure planning system built for speed, fairness and sustainable growth.”