The Planning and Infrastructure Bill: What does it mean?

The Planning and Infrastructure Bill (PIB) nears Royal Assent after successive readings in the houses of Commons and Lords, with indications that it might be finalised before the festive season. Amongst the many topics covered, Part 2 of the PIB covers some interesting tweaks to the planning system, as it tackles the influences of local members in their decision-making duties.  Greater training for members and potentially greater number of applications delegated for officer approval are two of the topics.  Inevitably planning fees continue to be reviewed as well, but the introduction of changes to the natural environment process will be most eagerly awaited. 

 

In Part 3 of the PIB some important implications for development and nature recovery with the introduction of Environmental Delivery Plans and the Nature Restoration Levy, this is possibly in reaction to the Government’s pledge to fix the delivery of homes and their claim that it is the natural environment that ‘blocks development’; a claim that has received an inevitable scorn from environmental professionals who have presented compelling evidence to the contrary.

 

Our team of Planning and Ecology experts is watching the evolution of the Bill to see how it affects development projects in the near future and we await with interest the latest changes to the planning system.

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