The UK Government introduced the Planning and Infrastructure Bill to Parliament on Tuesday this week marking the next phase of its planning and development reforms.
As reported on Property Soup this follows policy changes made to the National Planning Policy Framework in December and aims to streamline processes, encourage development, and address infrastructure challenges.
One of the Bill’s key measures is the reform of the Compulsory Purchase Order (CPO) process, designed to accelerate land acquisition for public interest projects.
The Government has proposed directions to remove ‘hope value’ – the additional value landowners might expect based on speculative future planning permissions – where deemed justified in the public interest.
POTENTIAL IMPLICATIONS
Iain Halls, Managing Partner at Ceres Property, highlighted the potential implications for landowners: “The supply of land for development with willing landowners is a key part of the development process. We will be reviewing and advising landowners of implications accordingly.”
STREAMLINED DECISION-MAKING
The Bill also proposes a national scheme of delegation, reducing the need for certain planning applications to go before Councillors at Planning Committee meetings. The new rules would increase delegated-level decision-making for smaller applications below a threshold set between 10 and 100 homes or for Reserved Matters applications of any scale.
Further measures include restrictions on committee sizes and mandatory training for council members involved in planning decisions.
James Firth, Partner at Ceres Property, welcomed the move but urged caution: “This is a significant change to planning application decision-making which should have a positive impact on timescales and certainty for our clients’ projects.
“Whilst positive, there remain cases where the consideration of the wider benefits of schemes is vital to the proper assessment of projects and it will be important these issues continue to be picked up in delegated decisions.”
PLANNING FEES FLIXIBILITY
Another major proposal would allow local authorities to set their own planning fees to better cover costs. This goes beyond the planned nationwide fee increases due to take effect from 1st April, giving councils more control over resourcing their planning departments.
ENERGY AND EV INFRASTRUCTURE BOOST
The Bill prioritises grid connections for clean energy projects, replacing the current ‘first come, first served’ approach. This aims to accelerate connections for industrial sites and data centres, helping remove a key barrier to energy project development. Additionally, the Bill proposes a relaxation of planning rules to support the installation of electric vehicle (EV) charging points.
Edward Rout, Partner at Ceres Property, commented on the changes: “The potential for delays and uncertainty in grid connections has been a key issue for landowners and those promoting energy projects. The changes should provide new opportunities to consider energy and renewable projects for landowners.”
NEW TOWNS AND DEVELOPMENT CORPORATIONS
To tackle housing shortages, the Bill supports development corporations tasked with delivering new towns and large-scale developments. These corporations will work alongside local authorities to help meet higher housing targets set through the Government’s standard method.
John McLarty, Managing Partner at Ceres Property, emphasised the importance of collaboration: “The delivery of high growth levels may well require measures such as new towns across the country, as part of a package of measures to address housing needs.
“It is however important that any final proposals ensure these are taken forward in partnership with local authorities, landowners, developers and the wider industry; and that they are deliverable, supported by the requisite infrastructure, and with realistic assumptions around timescales.”
NEXT STEPS
The Planning and Infrastructure Bill will now move through the Parliamentary process in the coming months on its path to becoming law.
Property professionals, landowners and developers will be closely watching the Bill’s progression and its potential impact on planning processes and development opportunities.
