The Planning and Infrastructure Bill had its Second Reading in Parliament yesterday – ahead of the reading Deputy Prime Minister Angela Rayner warned that there was ‘no time to waste’ and urged Parliament to back key legislation needed to speed up the delivery of the Plan for Change.

The reforms are intended to unlock economic growth and accelerate the delivery of homes and critical infrastructure and are expected to bring jobs and opportunity across the country.

Significant reforms will be introduced through the Bill witrh the aim of speeding up planning decisions, removing unnecessary blockers and challenges to housing development and major infrastructure projects like windfarms, while at the same time delivering for the environment through the new Nature Restoration Fund.

The landmark Bill is at the heart of the government’s effort to secure Britain’s future through the Plan for Change, by supporting the push to deliver the 1.5 million homes and the target of making at least 150 decisions on major infrastructure projects in this Parliament – tripling the 57 decisions made in the previous Parliament and more than the 130 made since 2011.

Housing and Planning Minister, Matthew Pennycook said:

“Our landmark Planning and Infrastructure Bill will fundamentally change how we build things in this country.

“By streamlining the delivery of new homes and critical infrastructure, it will help tackle the housing crisis and raise living standards in every part of the country.

“The Bill marks another decisive step toward a planning system that is pro-growth and pro-infrastructure and will deliver on our Plan for Change commitments to build 1.5 million homes and fast-track planning decisions on at least 150 major economic infrastructure projects in this Parliament.”

Key measures in the Bill include:

• Overhauling planning decisions through the introduction of a national scheme of delegation to set out which applications should be determined by officers and which should go to committee, speeding up the approval process for new development.
• Establishing a Nature Restoration Fund to deliver a win-win for both the economy and nature ensuring builders can meet their environmental obligations faster.
• Strengthening the compulsory purchase process to acquire land for projects that are in the public interest and ensure compensation paid to landowners is not excessive.
• Giving additional powers to development corporations to make it easier when delivering large-scale developments, including the next generation of new towns.
• Reducing the burdensome consultation process when seeking approval for major infrastructure projects, including reservoirs, windfarms, roads and railway lines.
• Prioritising approved clean energy projects, such as wind and solar, for grid connections with a new ‘first ready, first connected’ system.
• Limiting the number of times that government decisions on major infrastructure projects can be legally challenged, with only one attempt for meritless cases.
• People living near new electricity transmission infrastructure will also receive up to £2,500 over 10 years off their energy bills, ensuring those hosting vital infrastructure can benefit from supporting this nationally critical mission.

The government has also already announced its commitment to deliver a new 10-year Infrastructure Strategy, which will help unlock private investment over the next decade and which will be set out in due course.