Overview

The Planning and Infrastructure Bill aims to streamline infrastructure development, improve planning processes, and establish a nature restoration levy. It also makes changes to compulsory purchase procedures and environmental reporting.

Description

Infrastructure

The bill simplifies the consenting process for nationally significant infrastructure projects, including electricity and transport. It introduces new powers to disapply development consent requirements in certain circumstances and streamlines the application process, reducing pre-application requirements and clarifying the acceptance stage. It also provides for greater flexibility in managing connections to electricity networks, sets new deadlines for consultations and decisions, and updates regulations on fees for various infrastructure-related services. The bill includes provisions for extending commissioning periods for electricity transmission systems and promoting the use of forestry land for renewable energy generation. For electric vehicles, it expands the definition of "street works" to include the installation and maintenance of public charge points.

Planning

The bill allows for greater flexibility in setting planning application fees, enabling local authorities in England to set their own fees, while introducing a surcharge on planning fees to help cover costs. It introduces a mandatory training requirement for those involved in planning decisions in England, along with provisions for delegating planning decisions. Finally, it introduces a new system for strategic spatial development strategies, which will be prepared by specified authorities and subject to several stages of review and consultation.

Nature Restoration Levy

A new nature restoration levy, administered by Natural England, will be payable by developers. This levy will fund conservation measures to offset the negative environmental impact of development, as set out in Environmental Delivery Plans (EDPs). EDPs will specify development areas, types, and volumes, identify environmental features and impacts, detail conservation measures and costs, and define the levy charging schedules. The bill includes provisions for the preparation, consultation, making, reporting, amending, revocation, and challenging of EDPs. It also outlines the liability to pay the levy, including appeals processes, the use of collected funds, collection procedures, enforcement mechanisms, and compensation provisions.

Compulsory Purchase

The bill modernizes compulsory purchase procedures, enabling electronic service of documents and allowing for more concise descriptions of land in newspaper notices. It introduces an expedited procedure for compulsory purchase of unoccupied land and clarifies the process for confirming orders, permitting modifications with appropriate consent. The bill adjusts the basic and occupier's loss payments and introduces exclusions for home loss payments in certain circumstances.

Government Spending

The bill's impact on government spending is complex. While the nature restoration levy is designed to be self-financing through developer contributions, the government may incur costs in administering the scheme and in supporting the implementation of new processes. Costs are expected to be offset by the increased revenue generation from new fee structures in planning and infrastructure.

Groups Affected

• Developers: Potentially affected by increased fees, the nature restoration levy, and changes to the planning and consenting processes.
• Local Authorities: Affected by changes to planning application fees, delegation of decisions and training requirements.
• Infrastructure Providers: Affected by changes to the consenting and connection processes for electricity and transport infrastructure.
• Environmental Groups: Potentially affected by the establishment of the nature restoration levy and the implementation of EDPs.
• Landowners: Affected by changes to compulsory purchase procedures and compensation arrangements.
• Electricity Suppliers: Affected by the potential establishment of a scheme providing financial benefits to homes near new or upgraded transmission infrastructure.
• Homes near Electricity Transmission Projects: Potentially benefit from a financial scheme.
• Forestry Estate Owners: Potentially affected by expanded powers concerning use of forestry land for renewable electricity projects.

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