New planning proposals to accelerate infrastructure and support nature recovery

In a statement issued on 22 January 2025, the Government announced a series of reforms aimed at accelerating infrastructure projects while simultaneously supporting the natural environment.

These measures, which are part of the Government’s "Plan for Change" (setting out milestones to be achieved by the end of this Parliament), are designed to streamline the planning process for major infrastructure projects and address environmental concerns more effectively. Such measures will be included in the anticipated Planning and Infrastructure Bill, with a view to ensuring that the Government is able to deliver 150 planning decisions relating to major infrastructure by the end of its current term. 

Under the current system, promoters of major infrastructure projects must secure environmental mitigation and/or compensation prior to the grant planning consent, which the Government has identified as causing additional cost and delay to the delivery of critical infrastructure. In order to address this, the Government is pressing forward with plans to set up a new "Nature Restoration Fund" that developers will be able to pay into directly in order to unlock consent for the construction of infrastructure projects. It's envisaged that this will reduce the time consuming and costly process of undertaking individual site level assessments, and it's hoped that many developments will proceed on the basis of a single payment into the fund instead.

The fund, which is due to be managed by Natural England or another suitable body, will be utilised to address environmental needs on a strategic (rather than site specific) basis. By pooling contributions from various projects, it's envisaged that the fund will support larger, strategic interventions for nature whilst simultaneously reducing the burden on individual developers linked to site specific mitigation. 
By removing such barriers to development, the Government hopes to facilitate the development of vital infrastructure projects such as wind farms, railways, and data centres, while also reversing the decline of natural habitats on a broader scale.

These proposals represent a significant step forward in the Government’s efforts to balance economic growth with environmental sustainability. By streamlining the planning process and supporting strategic environmental interventions, it's hoped that these reforms will unblock infrastructure projects whilst also serving to protect the natural environment.

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