The UK Government aims to expedite approvals for major infrastructure projects, addressing legal hurdles that cause significant delays.
- Nationally Significant Infrastructure Projects (NSIPs) like railways, roads, and energy ventures require a development consent order (DCO) to commence construction.
- Current planning processes have extended average approval times to two years, double the expected 15 months due to complex legal challenges.
- Recommendations include reducing judicial review opportunities and raising thresholds for review claims to streamline the process.
- A special court for NSIPs and new procedural amendments are proposed to fast-track judicial processes and decision-making.
The UK Government has set its sights on accelerating the approval process for Nationally Significant Infrastructure Projects (NSIPs), which encompass major transport and energy initiatives. These projects need a development consent order (DCO) to begin construction, a process taking longer than envisaged due to intricate planning frameworks and legal obstacles. The average waiting period has stretched from the expected 15 months to about two years, with contentious projects like the Lower Thames Crossing facing even more delays.
An independent review was commissioned to explore solutions to these challenges. The review has concluded that there is no need to alter cost cap regulations as long as the UK adheres to the Aarhus Convention, which guarantees public access to environmental decision-making. However, the review proposes cutting down the chances to seek judicial review from three to one or two, and possibly raising the bar for lodging these claims through changes to the Civil Procedure Rules.
A key proposal is to establish a specialist NSIP court, staffed by judges experienced in such projects, to expedite judicial review challenges to DCO decisions. This would involve amending the Civil Procedure Rules to automatically consider these cases as significant planning matters, thereby fast-tracking their progression through the legal system.
Further recommendations include automatic pre-permission management conferences for judicial reviews, aiming to decide quickly whether to proceed with a hearing. Such measures could significantly reduce the time from application to decision, ensuring that projects do not suffer prolonged delays due to procedural issues.
The review also calls for the introduction of target timescales for appeals in the Planning Court and the Supreme Court, enhancing transparency by regularly publishing data on case processing times. This approach is seen as a means to provide clarity and predictability in the approval timelines for NSIPs.
The government is reviewing these recommendations to establish a more efficient infrastructure approval system, ensuring timely project execution.
