The Chancellor’s Growth Plan, released on 23 September 2022, announces new legislation (the Planning and Infrastructure Bill) to accelerate priority major infrastructure projects across England, by:

• minimising the burden of environmental assessments
• making consultation requirements more proportionate
• reforming habitats and species regulation
• and increasing flexibility to make changes to a Development Consent Order once it has been submitted.

It also announces sector-specific changes to accelerate infrastructure delivery, including:

• bringing onshore wind planning policy in line with other infrastructure to allow it to be deployed more easily in England
• reforms to accelerate road delivery through more streamlined consent processes.

These reforms will mean that energy infrastructure, including renewables, gets built more quickly. The government says it will work with the devolved administrations in relation to devolved planning responsibilities.

The Bill is subject to Parliamentary approval.