Planning and Infrastructure Bill Proposes Measures to Fast-Track Development

The Government has introduced the Planning and Infrastructure Bill, which sets out a package of proposed reforms aimed at speeding up the delivery of housing and critical infrastructure across England. These proposals are intended to streamline the planning system, unlock land for investment, and provide greater certainty for businesses and local authorities involved in development projects.

According to the Government, the current planning system has contributed to delays in major infrastructure projects, with the average time to secure planning permission for such developments now exceeding four years. In response, the proposed measures are expected to reduce these timescales and associated costs, helping to support economic growth and improve housing supply.

Key proposals include:

• Faster Consenting for Critical Infrastructure: The Bill proposes measures to accelerate approvals for major projects, including energy infrastructure, to support the UK’s Clean Power 2030 target.
• Strategic Approach to Nature Recovery: A new Nature Restoration Fund would streamline how developers meet environmental obligations, enabling a more strategic and coordinated approach to improving natural habitats.
• Improved Planning System Certainty: The proposals aim to ensure that local planning authorities have the resources and processes needed to make timely, high-quality decisions.
• Unlocking Land for Development: Changes to compulsory purchase processes would help public sector bodies assemble land more effectively for housing and infrastructure projects.
• Cross-Boundary Strategic Planning: New mechanisms are proposed to support planning at a larger geographic scale, helping align infrastructure investment with housing delivery.

The Government’s impact assessment estimates that these reforms, if implemented, could generate economic benefits equivalent to £3.2 billion over the next ten years, with wider, non-monetised benefits also anticipated. These include improved delivery of housing and infrastructure and reduced environmental impacts through more strategic planning.

While the proposals are intended to deliver benefits across the country, the impact assessment notes that rural areas may particularly benefit from initiatives such as the electricity bill discount scheme for households near new transmission infrastructure, and through improved coordination of strategic infrastructure planning.

The Government states that these proposals are part of wider efforts to unlock economic growth and deliver 1.5 million new homes by the end of this Parliament.

For further details, you can read the full Government press release here and the Impact Assessment here.