WHAT IS THE ACT?
The Planning and Infrastructure Act 2025 received Royal Assent on 18th December 2025 and is expected to be followed by further detailed guidance during the course of this year.
The Act is intended to 鈥済et Britain building again鈥�, streamline the planning process, increase funding and resources for local authorities and remove certain steps in the consenting process.
Some provisions came into force immediately while others are due later this year with some still requiring commencement orders.
WHY HAS IT BEEN INTRODUCED?
The government鈥檚 main objective is to remove blockages in the planning system, accelerate housing delivery and streamline consent for nationally significant infrastructure projects (NSIPs).
The Act should be of interest to all contractors involved in the development process.
The government expects its planning reforms to bring 鈥渕ore homes, better transport links and cleaner energy projects built quicker鈥�.
WHERE WILL THE IMPACT BE FELT?
The focus of the Act is on the planning system in England and Wales. In Scotland and Northern Ireland, the planning system is devolved. Nevertheless, there is some limited application of the Act in Scotland and Northern Ireland, primarily focusing on energy infrastructure and compulsory purchase powers.
APPLICATION DECISIONS聽
- The introduction of a national scheme of delegation later this year will give guidance on whether an application should be decided by a planning committee or delegated to planning officers. The aim is to remove bottlenecks by ensuring only contentious and complex applications are considered by elected council members. Delegated decisions should be quicker, helping to remove the volume of applications.
- All planning committee members must complete certified training before participating in decision-making. This should improve consistency in the decision-making process and ensure that committees provide clear, logical and legal reasons for any refusal. l The secretary of state will be able to set limits on the size and composition of planning committees. The government considers smaller, more considered, planning committees are better for effective debate and decision making.
- Ministers will have new powers to prevent councils refusing applications during a government 鈥榗all-in鈥�, reducing political risk for strategic projects.
This article was first published in the March 2026 issue of 萝莉原创 Magazine. Sign up online.
COMPULSORY PURCHASE
The process of compulsory purchase orders will be streamlined, making it simpler and introducing the electronic service of notices. The time period for general vesting declarations for unoccupied land is reduced from three months to six weeks.
COST OF APPLICATIONS
The Act grants local planning authorities the power to set fees locally, within certain parameters, provided revenue is reinvested in planning services. It is expected that application fees will eventually rise to ensure cost recovery on the decision-making process. Once fees have been re-invested, local planning authorities may become better resourced and decisions may be given more quickly in the future.
ACCELERATING MAJOR INFRASTRUCTURE PROJECTS
- If a proposed NSIP has strong support from the local planning authority, the developer will be able to request an alternative to the previously mandatory development consent order (DCO). This offers greater flexibility to the developer and potentially quicker decisions.
- Under the Act there is no longer a statutory requirement to consult on NSIPs. Statutory pre-application consultation requirements will be removed and timelines for examination and decision-making will be shortened with guidance from the secretary of state aiming for proportionate engagement. This is expected to shorten the consenting process considerably. There will also be no requirement for developers to consult on preliminary environmental information.
- NSIPs that require DCOs are governed by national policy statements (NPS). These will now be reviewed at least every five years or more often if required by changes in government policy, court proceedings or evolving infrastructure and environmental priorities. Ensuring NPSs stay current should reduce legal challenges.
- The distinction between 鈥榤aterial鈥� and less significant 鈥榥on-material鈥� changes to DCOs will be removed. Simplification is expected to lead to an easier process and quicker resolution.
- Acceptance procedures are clarified and the planning inspectorate is now required to issue written reasons if a DCO application is refused.
DEVELOPMENT CORPORATIONS聽
The Act standardises the type of infrastructure that development corporations can provide, including the variety, extent and type of geographical areas over which they can operate.
This more prescriptive approach is intended to make the application process simpler and more transparent.
WHAT IT ALL MEANS FOR CONTRACTORS
We should all see a faster planning process that is less prescriptive, with fewer requirements during the pre-application and application stages. Contractors should consider issues that may arise in advance of any application. Despite reduced consultation requirements, it will still be prudent to ensure issues are consulted fully, otherwise complex issues may be more challenging to address at inquiry.
The Act seeks to reduce the risk profile for investors so contractors may see readier funding for projects which may have previously had funders hesitating.
Further guidance is expected in 2026 to help shape pre-application requests and application submissions and ensure they align with current policy and guidance. It is essential that contractors stay up to date: being able to utilise the changing planning world to their advantage could mean planning permission granted more quickly and schemes off the ground sooner.
This article was first published in the March 2026 issue of 萝莉原创 Magazine. Sign up online.
RIGHTS OF ACCESS
The Act gives contractors, applicants and any authorised persons the right to enter land for surveys without needing consent and, if access is resisted, the ability to secure a magistrates鈥� warrant. This provision is intended to reduce the risk of delays in gathering essential technical information to support surveys and progress applications and development.
CHANGES TO DEVELOPMENT PLANS聽
Combined authorities are now required to produce a spatial development strategy (SDS), which will set housing figures but not allocate sites, instead only identifying general areas suitable for development. Following adoption, SDSs will become part of the development plan for the area and local plans will have to align with them. It is worth looking out for these in future as all planning applications will have to comply.
JUDICIAL REVIEW
Reforms to the judicial review process through the Act mean that for NSIPs the paper permission stage will be abolished and cases deemed 鈥榯otally without merit鈥� by the High Court will be blocked from appeal. The idea is to reduce the risk of projects sitting idle for years during litigation and provide greater programme certainty for contractors.
The Act also introduces an extension of time for implementing planning permissions that are the subject of judicial review. Since 18th February 2026 there is now a one-year extension for proceedings in the High Court, a further year extension if the case moves to the Court of Appeal and a further two years if the case progresses to the Supreme Court. Ensuring planning permissions for major housing schemes will not lapse during judicial review proceedings is expected to promote investment in housing developments.
WHO NEEDS TO KNOW ABOUT THE ACT
The Act will have a significant impact on those bringing forward NSIPs but will also have a wide-ranging effect on all those involved in the process of planning and development.聽
JARGON BUSTER
EDP 鈥� environmental delivery plan. Drafted聽by Natural England and intended to聽streamline environmental assessment process.
DCO聽鈥� development consent order. The legal聽instrument that currently grants permissions for NSIPs.
NPS聽鈥� national policy statement. They聽provide the framework governing development of NSIPS.
NRL 鈥� nature restoration levy. A new system聽allowing environmental impacts to be offset.
NSIP 鈥� nationally significant infrastructure project. A major infrastructure project such as a road, power station or airport.
SDS聽鈥� spatial development strategy. A combined authority鈥檚 long-term strategic plan for development.
About the Author Jennifer Glasgow is an associate specialising in planning law at law firm Norton Rose Fulbright.
This article was first published in the March 2026 issue of 萝莉原创 Magazine. Sign up online.
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