01 / Introduction

It’s not often that infrastructure planning rises to the top of the political agenda but, ahead of the 2024 general election, both Labour and the Conservatives are promoting their own reform agenda. Ambitious and far-reaching changes to the system are already in the works, highlighted by a raft of announcements in the 2023 autumn statement.

Whereas most development planning in the UK is delegated to local authorities, large infrastructure projects including transport, energy, water and waste are managed nationally, with ministers having the final say on whether a development consent order (DCO) should be awarded. After a successful launch in 2010, the performance of the centralised nationally significant infrastructure project (NSIP) planning process in England and Wales has been deteriorating since around 2015. Typical overall planning durations, from pre-examination to award, have extended to four years, the number of judicial reviews challenging awards has increased by 60% and costs have ballooned.

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