NIA2: Impact so far

The previous government announced reforms to the planning system for nationally significant infrastructure projects (NSIPs) alongside the Autumn Statement in November 2023.

This was in response to the Commission’s study of April 2023, the recommendations of which were reiterated in NIA2: these included five-yearly reviews of National Policy Statements (NPSs), linking them to spatial plans for infrastructure, reviewing thresholds for NSIPs and bringing onshore wind back into the NSIP regime. 

That study also recommended government develop a menu of direct benefits for communities hosting major infrastructure schemes; improve resourcing for statutory consultees; establish a central coordination and oversight mechanism; and adopt a more strategic approach to environmental assessment and mitigation.

By Spring 2024 the government had designated and updated NPS for water resources, energy and national transport networks, and committed to update the NPS for nuclear and port infrastructure. 

In line with the Commission’s message on speeding up deployment of renewables, the new government took action to enable onshore wind in England by removing the additional tests in the National Planning Policy Framework that only applied to onshore wind projects, putting them on an equal playing field with other renewable technologies.  

The government is currently examining options for improving NPSs and keeping them up to date; it has also consulted on thresholds for nationally significant solar projects and on bringing onshore wind into the NSIP regime.

National Grid ESO (soon to be designated as the National Energy System Operator) will be commissioned to develop a strategic spatial plan for energy, as recommended by our Commissioner Nick Winser in his independent report on accelerating transmission network deployment and echoed in NIA2. The government is also exploring options for taking a more spatial approach to infrastructure planning in other sectors. 

The government has developed proposals on community benefits for electricity transmission infrastructure and is considering options for other sectors. It has also introduced cost recovery for statutory consultees, and improved coordination between departments by establishing a ‘star chamber’ that feeds into the government’s mission boards. 

On 14 December 2023, the previous government announced plans for eleven new projects for hydrogen production in the UK alongside updates to its existing strategy for the development of hydrogen manufacturing.

In addition, it published an updated delivery plan for its existing hydrogen strategy, a ‘vision’ document for hydrogen transportation and storage including details of proposed business models that will be used to boost production.

These documents adopted many of the Commission’s recommendations in NIA2, such as the creation of a core hydrogen network connecting industrial hubs, a consultation on the right mechanisms to support the early deployment of hydrogen power generation and storage, and a commitment to consider the need for a strategic energy reserve.

The previous government also released a CCS vision which outlined the direction of policy beyond the current four industrial clusters examining several of the challenges NIA2 set out, including examining the strategic case for CO2 networks.  

The previous government’s December 2023 commitment to increase future funding (from 2025) for the Boiler Upgrade Scheme reflected the Commission’s strong support for electrification as the answer for the future of home heating. While the Commission believes greater public funding will be required to support many millions of homeowners to make the switch, this move to expand the reach of the scheme was a welcome step in the right direction.

The previous government also issued a consultation on changes to permitted development rights relating to heat pumps, including removing the “one metre rule” that required heat pumps to be installed more than a metre from the boundary of a property. 

The second Assessment highlighted the opportunities to improve both regional and national productivity through investing in long distance and local and urban transport.

The new Transport Secretary has proposed using infrastructure to tackle regional inequality and committed to develop a long term strategy for transport, something recommended by the Commission in the second Assessment to provide certainty to the transport sector. This includes improvements to rail connectivity across the north of England, which can help to address the issues on the rail network previously highlighted by the Commission.

NIA2 recommended government give all local authorities responsible for strategic transport planning devolved multi-year budgets, to allow them to plan for the long term and develop locally led infrastructure and growth strategies, in which transport can be considered alongside housing and land use development. 

The new government has publicly committed to deepen devolution settlements for combined authorities and give towns and cities the tools they need to pursue growth, create jobs and improve living standards, and also made commitments to fix potholes across the road network, in line with the priority given to road maintenance in NIA2.

The Commission recommended in the Assessment that electric vehicle charge points must be spread across the country and keep pace with the sales of electric vehicles, to support decarbonisation of the transport sector. The government committed in its election manifesto to support the transition to electric vehicles through accelerating the rollout of charge points.

At Spring Budget 2024, the previous government announced that landfill tax rates will be adjusted to better reflect inflation rates and to incentivise investment in more sustainable waste management infrastructure. This directly reflected the Commission’s call in NIA2 for this tax to be increased to ensure it remains the most expensive treatment option for residual waste.