In his ‘mini-budget’ chancellor Kwasi Kwarteng announced that new legislation will reduce planning restrictions and laws derived from the European Union (EU) that ‘constrain our growth’.
image: Open Government Licence v3.0
… promised to streamline the process involving assessments, appraisals, consultations and regulations…
Cedrec writes:
… Mr Kwarteng stated that the “essential foundation of growth is infrastructure”. However, he noted that the time taken for Nationally Significant Infrastructure Projects (NSIP’s) to gain approval is increasing rather than decreasing. These projects are often large, complex planning proposals that have a national benefit, such as railway lines or nuclear power stations. The process for approving them is therefore longer than the average planning application due in part to the information to be considered.
Mr Kwarteng has promised to streamline the process involving assessments, appraisals, consultations and regulations. At the same time, they aim to speed up the decision-making process and will publish a list of infrastructure projects that will be “prioritised for acceleration”.
In the budget announcement, Mr Kwarteng also stated that new investment zones would be created….
Looking at the latter investment zone proposal, Victoria Hills, chief executive of the RTPI, said “Local consent is quite rightly identified as a requirement for investment zones to be chosen, because construction and infrastructure projects cannot simply be pushed on local communities. Experience shows that a strong plan-led approach is also needed….
“Success will therefore depend on local leadership and further detail…”
