Following the Labour Party’s victory in the 2024 General Election, reform of the planning system has become a key part of the Government agenda. Amongst the 40 bills mentioned in the Kings Speech given to Parliament on 17 July 2024 was the Planning and Infrastructure Bill (“the Bill”). The Bill has the intention of ‘getting Britain building’ by unlocking more housing and infrastructure across the country.
Reform of CPO Compensation Rules
The briefing notes accompanying the Kings Speech indicate that the Bill will introduce changes to the compulsory purchase compensation rules. Such changes would be made “to ensure that fair compensation is paid to landowners but not excessive where important social and physical infrastructure and affordable housing is being delivered”. The Government envisages that such reforms would assist authorities to resolve land assembly issues and facilitate development schemes to come forward.
The detail of such reforms is awaited. However, the changes could involve disregarding hope value for some compulsory purchase schemes, as is already possible for acquisitions associated with affordable housing, hospital, and education development following the enactment of the Levelling Up and Regeneration Act 2023.
Funding Nature Recovery
The Bill is expected to introduce changes that enable new development to fund nature recovery where both are currently stalled. Although the Kings Speech itself was light on detail, it is presumed that such comments are targeted at introducing measures to address nutrient neutrality issues, whilst reiterating the Government’s “unwavering commitment” to the environment.
Developers and local authorities with interests in areas affected by nutrient neutrality issues will want to monitor the Bills progression. However, the briefing notes published alongside the Kings Speech make clear that the Government will only propose a legislative solution where it is confident that such changes would deliver “positive environmental outcomes”.
Streamlining of Critical Infrastructure
Decision making timelines for the making of Development Consent Orders have recently slowed, with such orders taking over 4 years on average. The National Infrastructure Commission have also highlighted concerns that a failure to accelerate infrastructure delivery within the next 5 years could constrain economic growth and climate change commitments.
The Bill is therefore expected to propose a simplified consenting process for major infrastructure projects. Alongside such measures, revised National Policy Statements are expected to be published containing a clear review process that will require their updating every 5 years.
Improving Decision-Making, and Increasing Capacity
It is anticipated that the Bill will introduce powers to modernise planning committees and increase local authority capacity in order to “provide a more predictable service”. The commitment to boost resources at local level will be welcomed across the industry, with timescales associated with the majority of planning decisions reported to have lengthened in recent years.
Although the specifics have yet to be announced, it is foreseeable that modernisation measures made available to councils and their planning committees through the Bill may involve increased use of virtual meetings or delegations.
Overall, the King’s Speech and the Bill outline a package of changes that places significant emphasis on planning reform and its role in stimulating economic growth. For any advice or questions arising from any matters discussed in the Bill, please contact us.