The Infrastructure & Planning Bill: what are the proposed reforms to the planning system?

The Labour Government has made its mission to remove red tape from the planning system as a key measure designed to boost economic growth. This is highlighted by the introduction of the Infrastructure & Planning Bill on 11 March to help deliver on its ambitious (and some would say highly unattainable) housing objective to build 1.5 million homes over the next 5 years, in support of its pledge of “getting Britain building again”. It also wants to see through 150 decisions on major infrastructure projects by the end of the Parliament. These aims are of course intrinsically linked given that housing growth on any significant scale cannot be realised without the necessary infrastructure provision to be delivered at the appropriate time.

Practically, there is a potentially challenging conflict with the Government’s other commitments on ‘net zero’, seeking to deliver clean energy by 2030 and be net zero by 2050, and nature recovery. In this article, Keystone Law’s Planning consultant solicitor Ben Garbett explains the key elements of the Bill and other ways the Government is seeking to reform planning.

What is included in the Infrastructure & Planning Bill?

The new Bill promises to provide a welcome boost to a struggling economy in a range of ways:

• A national scheme of delegation that will encourage quicker planning decision-making, better training for planning committees, and increased funding through council-led setting of application fees.
• A nature restoration fund which is intended to take a strategic approach to ecological mitigation and nature recovery which promises to short-circuit local obstacles to development where site-specific difficulties can often restrict the timely grant of permission.
• A revitalisation of the powers of Development Corporations to deliver on the Government’s agenda for the next generation of “new towns”.
• A reform of compulsory purchase laws to ensure landowners are not rewarded with excessive compensation through claiming “hope value”. This will be restricted where it can be justified in the public interest.
• A welcome return to Strategic Planning known as “spatial development strategies”, being the modern equivalent of the old RSS (regional spatial strategies) which will have a cross-border focus across administrative districts.
• A faster system for approving new National Significant Infrastructure Projects (NSIP), by reducing the bureaucracy around consulting processes, and by keeping national policy under regular review – a more certain system by reducing the scope for disaffected persons to launch legal challenges at the back end of the process.
• A more efficient system for connecting new clean energy projects to the national grid.

The National Planning Policy Framework

In December 2024, the Government issued a new iteration of the national planning policy framework (‘NPPF’) which is a key policy tool guiding the outcome of planning decisions on a range of developments below the threshold for an NSIP. Overall, these changes were aimed at creating a more comprehensive and updated framework for planning decision-making, with a stronger emphasis on delivering housing, infrastructure, and environmental sustainability goals.

“Planning Reform Working Paper: Development and Nature Recovery”

One key reform measure contained in the new Bill is to change the way that environmental safeguarding and mitigation is provided on development sites. These proposals were foreshadowed in the Government’s “Planning Reform Working Paper: Development and Nature Recovery”, first published on 15 December 2024.

1. The current approach to environmental mitigation

The current system requires site-specific analysis and mitigation of environmental impacts on a project-by-project basis, to satisfy the requirements of a raft of environmental legislation and case law which derives from EU Directives. This ‘granular’ approach is often slow-moving and fraught with difficulties.

2. Problems with the current system

Problems arising out of water and nutrient neutrality has led to gridlock in the development sector over significant parts of the UK, particularly areas located in the south of England where the pressure for new housing delivery is most acute. This is a significant hurdle given the historic lack of forethought and funding for strategic planning measures to alleviate these problems.

Baseline environmental conditions are so bad that this has had a chilling effect on the house-building sector, where that industry is not squarely to blame. The Government’s reform paper is a timely signal that there needs to be a better way of planning for and avoiding these problems.

3. The need for a new strategic approach

The Government is planning to introduce a formula-based payments system where developers will pay into a centralised “Nature Restoration Fund”. This will support bespoke land restoration projects identified across a wide area, and subject to Delivery Plans implemented by responsible bodies such as Natural England.

This may be seen as the Government taking the initiative for delivery and implementation of environmental mitigation and restoration where this is impacted by development. An array of project-specific assessments will make way for a broad strategic assessment and delivery plan. The idea, of course, is to unlock the system so that development can move forward in unison with nature recovery.

The use of formula-based financial contributions to fund strategic environmental management plans is not new. It has become an effective way to mitigate the potential effects of increased recreational pressure in sensitive environmental areas, e.g. where new housing development is required within the zone of influence around a special protection area (‘SPA’) or special area of conservation (‘SAC’). Prior to the implementation of such mechanisms through policies introduced in local development plans, housing delivery came to an abrupt halt in these areas. Housing sites effectively became undevelopable given the strong legislative protection bestowed upon these precious habitat sites by virtue of their designations.

4. Balancing economic and environmental needs

There are understandable fears that reform may herald a re-adjustment of the current uneasy balance between environmental and economic factors where planning decisions are taken, which typically tips in favour of the latter.

An approach that balances economic and environmental needs is crucial for sustainable development. Many environmental organisations will be fearful that stripping environmental bodies of their powers to delay construction on certain sites could result in short-sighted decisions that lead to irreversible damage to the environment and human health in those locations.

Supporters of the changes argue that it will help unblock a ‘broken’ planning system and speed up the delivery of new homes, which is desperately needed in the current housing crisis. By reducing delays and regulatory hurdles, developers could potentially react more quickly to market needs and build more affordable homes. The Government hopes this will help to stimulate the housing sector and boost the economy, creating jobs and providing a much-needed stimulus to the construction industry.

It is promising to see that action is being taken to improve conditions in which developments can come forward. However, the planning system is challenged by a host of deeply embedded structural problems that will need to be fixed. For example, issues around understaffed local authority planning departments, construction industry skills shortages and lack of Grid capacity must be addressed before the objectives of the Government’s pro-development agenda can be fully realised.

If you have questions or concerns about the planning reforms, please contact Ben Garbett.