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The Ministry of Housing, Communities and & Government has launched a consultation about how infrastructure consenting for nationally significant infrastructure projects could be speeded up.

Before 2008, big infrastructure projects were required to go through a planning inquiry, which could take years. The Planning Act 2008 introduced a streamlined process for major infrastructure projects, officially designated as nationally significant infrastructure projects (NSIPs), replacing the inquiry process with an shorter investigation by the newly established Planning Inspectorate followed by ministerial sign-off for the development consent order (DCO).

But the DCO process can still take time, although the biggest delays are usually due to ministers bucking politically toxic or expensive decisions by delaying signing DCOs.

This consultation seeks views on changes to guidance, services operated by the public sector, and secondary legislation to streamline the infrastructure planning process for NSIPs.

This includes the following proposals to amend the 2008 development consent process:

• new guidance about consultation and engagement following removal of statutory pre-application consultation requirements through the Planning & Infrastructure Bill 2025
• guidance and secondary legislation to support notification and publicity
• guidance to support the acceptance stage for applications
• the use of initial assessments of principal issues to focus examinations
• guidance for public bodies about their role in examinations
• changes to regulations related to the examination of applications including compulsory acquisition
• reforms and improvements to pre-application services provided by the Planning Inspectorate and the fast-track process
• supporting pre-application services through effective resourcing of statutory bodies.

It also seeks views on the removal of statutory pre-application requirements for onshore wind projects under the Town and Country Planning Act 1990 guidance.

There is no proposal, however, to prohibit ministers getting extensions to their six-month deadlines following submission of Planning Inspectorate recommendations.

Housing & planning minister Matthew Pennycook said: “To ensure a faster system overall, we want to couple a more proportionate approach to pre-application with ensuring that examinations themselves run more smoothly. Accordingly, we are seeking views on critical changes to examinations to ensure they remain focused and secure the right input from statutory bodies at the right time.

“The successful delivery of government’s infrastructure objectives relies on appropriately supporting applicants through the process. We are therefore seeking views on the operation of the Planning Inspectorate’s pre-application and fast-track services. We are also interested in whether they should be deployed more flexibly to focus on high priority projects that are particularly important to the successful delivery of government’s infrastructure objectives.

“Achieving our Plan for Change milestone of fast-tracking 150 planning decisions on major infrastructure projects by the end of this parliament is going to require the NSIP regime firing on all cylinders. The proposals in this consultation are crucial to ensuring it is flexible, proportionate, and responsive to government’s priorities.”

The consultation closes at 11:59pm on 27^th October 2025

More information can be found at: Consultation on streamlining infrastructure planning

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