Planning and Infrastructure Act 2025: how did the infrastructure provisions change through the legislative process and what does that mean for developers in England and Wales?

Through the Planning and Infrastructure Act, the government is making changes to the legislation governing the assessment and approval of nationally significant infrastructure projects (NSIPs). Its aim is to deliver a faster and more certain consenting process for critical infrastructure and strengthen the related policy contained in National Policy Statements.

With the Planning and Infrastructure Act 2025 becoming law on 18 December, what were the main changes made to the NSIP provisions during the bill's passage through Parliament?

The most significant changes to the bill's initial proposals

Removal of statutory pre-application consultation 

The legislative requirements for NSIP applicants to consult specified people and bodies (including landowners, local authorities and the community) before submitting an application for development consent have been removed.

As a consequence of this amendment, there is a new requirement for the secretary of state to publish best practice guidance on preparation of applications for development consent, which the government has indicated will encourage optional consultation. There is also a requirement on applicants to notify certain bodies of their application, including any relevant local authorities.

Initial assessment of principle issues to guide procedural decisions throughout examination 

When making decisions about how it intends to examine an application for development consent, the examining authority will be expressly required to have regard to its initial assessment of principal issues, and not merely the discussions that took place at the preliminary meeting. This is intended to streamline the examination process by further focusing it on the key issues.

Making it easier for applicants  for development consent to access land to carry out surveys  

As explained previously, access rights are amended to assist applicants, including by removing the requirement to secure consent from the secretary of state before entering land. Applicants can also apply for a related warrant to authorise reasonable use of force if required to secure access.

Changes to the procedures for amending DCOs  

The separate procedure of making non-material changes to development consent orders (DCOs) is deleted. The procedure for making material changes is then broadened out to include non-material changes as well. The government has said that these amendments will allow the secretary of state to "determine the appropriate level of publicity, consultation and scrutiny of a proposed change and also give […] greater flexibility to direct what is required to determine an application". Existing regulations and guidance will be updated.

Existing acceptance test and 28 day time limit retained 

The current legislation requires the secretary of state (SoS) to:

• decide whether or not to accept an application for development consent within 28 days of receipt; and
• to only accept an application if it is of a satisfactory standard.

The Planning and Infrastructure Bill initially proposed amendments to both of these requirements by:

• allowing the SoS to request further information, clarifications, corrections and other limited changes to the application, and consequently to delay a decision on whether to accept the application beyond 28 days; and
• changing the test for acceptance from "satisfactory standard" to "suitable to proceed to examination".

The House of Lords rejected these amendments, meaning that the Planning and Infrastructure Act 2025 does not amend the current legislation.

Greater emphasis on providing reasons when applications for development consent not accepted  

The current requirement for the secretary of state to notify an applicant of its reasons for not accepting an application for development consent is replaced by a beefed-up requirement to prepare a statement of reasons in those circumstances and to publish it as the secretary of state thinks appropriate.

Water undertaker appointees will be able to promote water NSIPs 

The water section of the Planning Act 2008 sets out the criteria for three categories of water NSIP:

• the construction or alteration of a dam or reservoir;
• development relating to water resources; and
• the construction or alteration of a desalination plant.

The Act amends all three so that they may be carried out by a person appointed by a water undertaker, rather than merely by water undertakers themselves.

What these changes mean for developers

These changes to the initial proposals sit alongside helpful measures that have remained since the first draft of the bill, including those designed to ensure a more up-to-date policy base for NSIPs. Together, they introduce welcome reforms that will improve the NSIP consenting regime for developers.

As previously explored, the removal of statutory consultation requirements will represent a significant benefit to some projects, though applicants must ensure any optional consultation remains sufficient to avoid overlooking issues that may delay or complicate later stages of the consenting process.

By retaining the existing acceptance test, the government avoids creating uncertainty around its meaning, which would have been an obvious target for legal challenge. The removal of the distinction between material and non-material amendments also spares applicants the fact-sensitive question of which is which.

The government acknowledges that the key question is how it moves from major legislative and policy changes to delivery. We are awaiting the necessary regulations and guidance, which should follow the government's response to its consultation on streamlining infrastructure planning. In relation to pre-application consultation, it has said that it will be necessary to encourage best practice "without creating the flaws of the current system". Overall, while these amendments will be beneficial, the question remains whether they are substantial enough to help the government reach its target of 150 NSIP decisions before the next election and to meet Britain's electricity demand with energy from "clean" sources by 2030.