Planning and Infrastructure Bill: A lawyers’ perspective on how this may impact our developer clients

The Planning and Infrastructure Bill (“the Bill”) was introduced to parliament on 11 March 2025 with its aim to streamline our planning system to accelerate housing development, unlocking economic growth and aligning with the government’s mission to “get Britain building again” to deliver the promised 1.5 million new homes.

What does the Planning and Infrastructure Bill propose?

The Bill proposes a number of significant legislative reforms and we have considered how just a few may impact our developer clients.

Environmental Delivery Plans (EDPs)

A new type of document prepared by Natural England, will be introduced. EDP’s will outline the conservation measures needed to mitigate the impact of specific types of development and will identify the Nature Restoration Levy (NRL) payable by developers to Natural England as part of the planning process. Whilst EDP’s will introduce yet further (unwelcome) compliance for developers, the trade off is that there will be greater clarity to assist with upfront budgeting by developers. With the objective to overcome issues such as nutrient neutrality, which can hold up schemes whilst mitigation is agreed, EDP’s could produce area wide nutrient neutrality assessment and mitigation allowing developers to offset the impacts of their scheme via the NRL which could be used towards such assessment and mitigation.

Spatial development strategies

Reforms will be introduced to ensure that local planning policies align with national objectives, including the Government’s target of delivering 1.5 million new homes. New strategic plans will identify priority areas for development, providing clearer guidance for both developers and Local Planning Authorities. These changes are intended to promote a more coordinated approach to decision-making, across the UK and provide greater certainty to developers and investors on where development is likely to be supported, unlocking land and de-risk planning strategies. Councils will gain stronger tools to align local planning with national housing and infrastructure goals, fostering more strategic growth across regions. The intention is that greater emphasis will be on cross-boundary strategic development.

Planning decisions

A more flexible approach of delegated decision making is proposed by the Bill. It is envisaged that the Secretary of State will determine what planning decisions should be delegated to planning offices or a planning committee. Local Planning Authorities will have the power to set their own fee structures.  This may in turn lead to a quicker decision-making process with appropriate delegation by Local Planning Authorities.  However, locally set fees could lead to increased planning costs in some areas, and this may have the effect of deterring planning and development and almost certainly hit SME’s the hardest. Understandably, Councils are keen to embrace the proposals that would provide them with greater control over resourcing and service quality, but will local authorities be able to manage an increase in the number of planning applications and what measures will be put in place to ensure the careful delegation of powers?

Training for local planning authorities

The Bill introduces mandatory enhanced training programmes for planning officers to provide consistency in their approach. These programmes aim to provide clarity on new policies and best practices. Upon completion, participants will receive certification. Local Planning Authority members who have not completed the training will be prohibited from participating in planning decisions on behalf of the Authority. For developer clients, this change may offer greater consistency and predictability in planning decisions. Developers may wish to focus their site identification efforts in regions where Local Planning Authorities are well prepared and consistent, potentially reducing delays and increasing the likelihood of positive engagement.

Infrastructure

The Bill introduces reforms to the Nationally Significant Infrastructure Project (NSIP) regime with the aim of expediting the delivery of major new infrastructure projects in the UK. Included is a requirement for National Policy Statements (NPS’s) to be reviewed at least every 5 years. The planning consent process will reduce the consultation requirements and the judicial review process will remove the paper permission stage with the intention to limit appeals for cases with no merit.  It is hoped the changes will give our developer clients greater certainty and reduce the risk of costly delays for major infrastructure projects. In turn, infrastructure projects will become more attractive and financially viable for clients to pursue.

What’s next for our clients?

The Bill has entered Committee Stage in the House of Commons, where it will undergo detailed scrutiny and amendment. We will continue to monitor developments closely and provide updates on the Bill and how the reform will likely impact our clients in practice.

Please contact our planning team if you need advice or assistance on anything discussed in this article.