The Infrastructure Planning (Waste Water Transfer and Storage) Order amending Section 14 of the Planning Act 2008 has been presented to the Grand Committee of the House of Lords, with universal endorsement.

Presenting to the Grand Committee, Lord Taylor of Holbeach, the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra), explained how the Order would perform two functions.

Firstly, it would extend the categories of Nationally Significant Infrastructure Projects (NSIP) to include major sewer developments with a capacity of 350,000 cubic metres or more. Secondly, it would allow public consultations that are carried out on such proposals before being designated as NSIPs to be treated as part of the planning application process as if they had indeed been classed as NSIPs.

Lord Taylor said:

“The main advantage of classifying proposed major sewers as nationally significant infrastructure projects is that they would benefit from the existing streamlined NSIP planning application process under the Planning Act 2008. This involves a single application to the Planning Inspectorate for a development consent order.”

The planning application process for proposed major sewers was considered in February 2011 by the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Select Committee as part of its scrutiny of the waste water national policy statement.

The committee found it inconsistent that major sewer developments were not included as NSIPs alongside major new sewage treatment works within the Planning Act 2008 and therefore recommended changing the situation.

Baroness Parminter, a Liberal Democrat Peer, supported the order:

“The Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Committee in another place recommended that the Government go down this route and the responses to the consultation contained widespread support, including from the local authorities that would be affected by the Thames tunnel proposals. Therefore, on this side of the coalition, we support the order.”

She also added that the Order was not about trying to speed up any decisions but “it is about making a process that is timely and minimises unnecessary cost but remains democratically accountable.”

Labour Peer Lord Grantchester also fully endorsed the Order:

“‘Infrastructure investment is vital to the UK economy and jobs’ - that is the first sentence in the background paper to the order today,” he said. “It is wonderful to hear the Minister speak to it and, as we have been reminding him and his Government constantly, place it at the top of the action for growth agenda.”

Also present in the Committee was Lord Berkeley, the Labour Peer with a background in tunnels, who said:

“I do not have a particular problem with the concept of an order such as this amending the planning process because I have always supported the Infrastructure Planning Commission and its successor.”

However, Lord Berkeley then guided the debate to the Thames Tunnel, which he is currently opposed to. He raised several issues concerning the project and asked for a meeting with Lord Taylor to go through his objections to the Tunnel and possible alternatives in more detail.

Lord Taylor agreed with Lord Berkeley and said that “perhaps it might be useful to have a meeting of Peers and those at Defra some time in the autumn where we can bring together all those matters.”

However, he also emphasised that the Order should be considered separately from the specific matter of the Thames Tunnel, but admitted that the debate would inevitably form around the Tunnel as it is currently the only major sewer project that would be affected by the new Order.

Lord Taylor then concluded the debate about the Order by saying that it will “help to prevent some of the indecision and delay that has gone on around many of these projects and the additional costs incurred by them. I hope that it will prove to be of utility for this Government and future governments.”

The Grand Committee considers bills which are not committed to the Committee of the Whole House in the Lords. It is identical to a Committee of the Whole House except that there is no voting and decisions must me made unanimously.

This particular Committee will now report to the House of Lords that the motion of the Order was agreed.