Hot on the heels of the NPPF consultation MHCLG has published a working paper on the introduction of ‘brownfield passports’ to encourage development of brownfield urban land in a way that goes beyond the policy support in the NPPF. This short Insight takes a look at this latest proposal and considers whether it offers something new for developers or whether it is a repurposing of existing tools. 

The Supreme Court’s judgment in R(Finch) v Surrey County Council  [2024] UKSC 20 has potentially significant implications on how environmental impacts of major projects are assessed.  The question at the heart of the case was how far ‘downstream’ from a development project the decision-maker has to look when assessing its likely environmental effects.  The answer, according to a slim majority of the Supreme Court, is further than had previously been thought necessary.  However, it’s not panic stations for all EIA development.

As part of the ongoing Government reforms to the consenting process for Nationally Significant Infrastructure Projects (“NSIPs”), PINS has launched its 2024 Pre-Application Prospectus. The Prospectus sits alongside a suite of other newly-published Guidance, which we have discussed in previous Insights, providing updated guidance on the DCO pre-application stage and new guidance on the new Fast-track process. The Prospectus implements expected reforms to the NSIP application process and provides important detail which all promoters should familiarise themselves with. In this Insight we summarise the key changes, which includes a: new tiered Pre-application service and associated costs; new and increased documentation and procedural requirements; Fast-track procedure; and transitional arrangements for projects already in the system.

Details of how the recently confirmed operational reforms to improve the NSIP planning process will work in practice are beginning to emerge. We have previously reported on which of the proposed operational reforms are confirmed, but following publication in April 2024 of various amendment regulations, new National Infrastructure Planning Guidance and PINS' launch of a new online platform, we now have a clearer understanding of the changes and how they will work in practice. 

Some significant planning changes are proposed in a government consultation on ‘An Accelerated Planning System’ launched on 6 March 2024 alongside the Spring Budget (which closes on 1 May).  These proposed changes cover new processes to speed up planning decisions, details of how the new route to vary planning permissions under s73B TCPA will work and possible solutions to facilitate the operation of overlapping ‘drop-in’ permissions to prevent Hillside risks arising in large schemes.

The Levelling-up and Regeneration Act 2023 was given Royal Assent on 26 October 2023. It introduces some wide-ranging reforms to the planning system which we summarise in this Insight.  However, most of the changes will not come into force immediately as they are subject to associated regulations and changes to national policy.