Planning and Infrastructure Bill reforms: Aiming to accelerate energy projects and the attainment of clean energy goals

The Planning and Infrastructure Bill (the Bill) was introduced to Parliament on 11 March and passed its second reading on 24 March. It's now at committee stage, which is due to conclude on 22 May. Through the Bill, the Government continues their efforts to reduce delays and costs in the planning system, while promoting economic growth. Another critical function of the Bill is supporting the UK’s clean energy and climate targets. The Bill aims to achieve this through various reforms to the planning regime which hope to encourage the implementation of energy projects throughout the UK.

Reforms to Nationally Significant Infrastructure Projects (NSIP)

The Planning Act 2008 provides that large infrastructure projects that meet certain thresholds require a Development Consent Order (DCO) rather than the usual planning permission under the Town and Country Planning Act 1990. This includes projects relating to energy, with the development of larger generating stations, electric lines and gas facilities requiring a DCO to be obtained.

As referred to in our previous article on the Government working paper which preceded the Bill, the Government proposes various reforms to the DCO process.

National Policy Statements (NPS)

An NPS is a statement issued by the Secretary of State (SoS) that outlines national policy for specific types of NSIPs. The current versions of the NPSs relating to energy infrastructure were published by the SoS on 17 January 2024 after passing through the House of Commons. These are:

• Overarching National Policy Statement for energy (EN-1)
• National Policy Statement for natural gas electricity generating infrastructure (EN-2)
• National Policy Statement for renewable energy infrastructure (EN-3)
• National Policy Statement for natural gas supply infrastructure and gas and oil pipelines (EN-4)
• National Policy Statement for electricity networks infrastructure (EN-5)

It was also confirmed that the National Policy Statement for nuclear power generation (EN-6) published in June 2011 would remain in force unrevised.

To keep NPSs aligned with current infrastructure requirements, the Bill will require that NPSs are reviewed and updated at least every five years.

The Bill also provides that a streamlined parliamentary process is available for amendments to an NPS required due to new or amended Government policy, amended/repealed legislation, or court decisions.

On 24 April 2025, the SoS published revised draft NPSs for EN-1, EN-3 and EN-5. These are currently open to consultation with the consultation closing on 29 May 2025. Materially, EN-1 has been updated to confirm that the Clean Power 2030 Action Plan is the primary policy that the NPSs enable. EN-3 provides updated guidance on offshore and onshore wind. EN-5 has been updated to endorse electricity transmission recommendations set out in the Centralised Strategic Network Plan, and to confirm that developers should have regard to the Electricity Transmission Design Principles which were recommended by the Clean Power Commissioner following a review of design guidance for transmission infrastructure.

DCO application process

The Bill confirms plans set out in the Government’s working paper which proposed changes to the DCO application process.

Under the current regime, applicants must publicise their proposals and consult with specified bodies before submitting their applications for development consent. This includes preparing and consulting on Preliminary Environmental Information (PEI).

When seeking compulsory acquisition powers, it's also necessary to consult with those eligible for compensation due to the project's impact on the value of their interest in land, even if their land is not itself being compulsorily acquired. These are known as “category 3” persons.  

The applicant is also required to prepare and submit a statement of community consultation setting out how consultation will be undertaken locally, which must then be adhered to throughout the process.

The Government’s view is that these consultation requirements often lead to applicants undertaking excessive consultation, and present little incentive for issues to be resolved proactively at the pre-application stage. Over time (in combination with other factors) this has led to a significant increase in the average timeline for the pre-application stage (from the inception meeting to the submission of the application).

To allow for more targeted and proportionate consultation and reporting, with a view to reducing delays within the NSIP system, the Bill originally proposed to:

1. Revise the contents requirements of consultation reports to support a concise approach, reduce the length of the document, and make them more accessible.
2. Remove the requirement to consult "category 3" persons (who will be made aware of the project through wider community consultation and notices) at the pre-application stage, with the requirement to consult them only arising once the final scope of the development is known.

However, in a written ministerial statement issued on 23 April 2025, Matthew Pennycook MP announced that the Government will go further still, and will amend the Bill to remove the statutory requirement to consult as part of the pre-application stage for NSIPs, bringing requirements in line with all other planning regimes. This includes removing the requirement to prepare and consult on PEI. It's envisaged that this could reduced the typical time spent in the pre-application stage by up to 12 months. Affected local communities and authorities will still be able to object to NSIP applications, provide evidence of adverse impacts, and have their say as part of the post-submission examination phase and the Statement emphasises that applications should be high quality and “underpinned by early, meaningful and constructive engagement with those affected”.

The Bill also provides that the SoS has the power to redirect certain NSIPs to the usual Town and Country Planning Act 1990 planning regime on a case-by-case basis where its deemed that the DCO application process would be unnecessarily burdensome.

Electricity infrastructure reforms

The Bill dedicates a chapter to new legislation on electricity infrastructure.

The National Energy System Operator (NESO) was established in September 2024 to support the Government and Ofgem in implementing reforms to facilitate the integration of new generation projects into the electricity grid. The Bill provides powers to the SoS, Ofgem and NESO to prioritise grid connection requests relating to projects that are ready, and that align with strategic and system plans such as the proposed Clean Power 2030 Action Plan. This moves away from the current “first come, first served” approach where connection requests are being handled with little consideration given to how ready a project is.

To further assist with the proposed Clean Power 2030 Action Plan, the Bill also requires Ofgem to establish a scheme which encourages investment in Long Duration Electricity Storage (LDES) which can store electricity and discharge it for eight hours or longer at full power. The scheme is a “cap and floor” scheme which ensures investors receive a minimum amount of revenue, while also providing that consumers receive payment if revenue goes beyond a certain amount.

Compulsory Purchase Order (CPO) reforms

A number of energy infrastructure projects require land to be compulsorily purchased in order for them to be implemented. Although the Law Commission have recently closed their consultation on Compulsory Purchase, with a final report and draft bill due to be published in 2027, the Bill provides some reforms on Compulsory Purchase which are proposed to take effect sooner.

The Government believes that the compulsory purchase process is too complex and archaic. The Bill aims to speed up and simplify the procedure by, for example, allowing statutory notices to be served electronically; simplifying the information required to be included in certain statutory notices; allowing vesting of land to occur sooner than 3 months after completion of service of ‘notice of making’ by agreement or where the land is unoccupied or there is no identifiable interest holder.

With the Bill expected to pass through Parliament later this year, a significant factor in assessing its success will be judging how effectively it accelerates the UK's transition to sustainable energy by supporting the efficient consenting of energy infrastructure projects and the efficient use of compulsory acquisition powers where necessary.

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