Industry welcomes government move to speed up major road projects

The Bill aims to speed up planning decisions to remove obstacles to the delivery of key housing and infrastructure projects, including roads.

Announcing the Bill, Angela Rayner, Deputy Prime Minister and Secretary of State for Housing, said: “We’re creating the biggest building boom in a generation - as a major step forward in getting Britain building again and unleashing economic growth in every corner of the country, by lifting the bureaucratic burden which has been holding back developments for too long.

“The Planning and Infrastructure Bill will unleash seismic reforms to help builders get shovels in the ground quicker to build more homes, and the vital infrastructure we need to improve transport links and make Britain a clean energy superpower to protect billpayers.”

She added: “These reforms are at the heart of our Plan for Change, ensuring we are backing the builders, taking on the blockers, and delivering the homes and infrastructure this country so badly needs.

One of the key measures in the Bill is to ensure National Significant Infrastructure Projects (NSIP) are delivered faster. 

To this end the Bill aims to streamline consultations for major projects – such as windfarms, roads or railway lines - and ensure the national policies against which infrastructure applications are assessed are updated at least every five years so the government’s priorities are clear.

Other changes will be made to the Highways Act and the Transport and Works Act to reduce bureaucracy so transport projects can progress quicker.

The government will also overhaul the process by which government decisions on major infrastructure projects can be challenged, warning that “meritless” cases will only have one – rather than three – attempts at legal challenge. 

The Bill will also aims to free up the backlog of grid connections, which has seen some projects face waits of over 10 years.

A ‘first ready, first connected’ system will replace the current ‘first come, first served’ approach to prioritise projects needed to deliver clean power, while plans to reform the grid queue aim to accelerate connections for industrial sites and data centres.

Other measures included in the Bill include streamlining the process to install EV charging infrastructure.

Reacting to the announcement, RHA Policy lead James Barwise said: “We welcome measures announced in the Planning Bill to accelerate the delivery of infrastructure that’s vital for our industry.

“In recent years, the average timeline for gaining planning consent for major projects has increased from 2.6 years to 4.2 and the number of projects that are subject to successful legal challenge is increasing.

These challenges delay new highways projects, logistics hubs and other major schemes which are key for our industry and the wider economy.”

He added: “Last year, the RHA’s message to the new government was clear: To deliver long-term growth, the planning system must be overhauled and made fit for purpose.

We’re glad to see the government has heard our message loud and clear, and the measures in this Planning Bill are the initial steps on a long journey to delivering the fit for purpose infrastructure that the freight and logistics sector needs”

Jonathan Walker, Logistics UK head of infrastructure and planning policy, said Logistics UK supports the government’s intention to reform planning, providing logistics infrastructure exists to support new communities and all sectors of the economy.

He said: “Nothing moves without logistics, and it is the foundation of any successful economic activity, whatever the industry.

“Planning reform that speeds up the development of nationally significant infrastructure is long overdue and will mean the logistics sector can contribute significantly to the government’s growth agenda and drive prosperity throughout the UK. 

“However, our members will need to scrutinise the Bill in detail to ensure that greater housebuilding is complemented by reforms that enable suitable logistics development to support a growing economy.

“The reality is that logistics infrastructure needs to be developed in conjunction with any significant housebuilding programmes so it can efficiently and sustainably service the resulting new communities, having delivered all the materials needed for new homes in the first instance.”