The Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities has announced that several major infrastructure projects will be fast-tracked as part of new plans
Major infrastructure projects that deliver community benefits to communities, such as transport links, water facilities, power stations, and offshore wind farms, are all due to be fast-tracked.
The major infrastructure project reforms will allow the economy to grow and create new jobs while ensuring these processes are not slowed by laborious planning processes.
According to the government, the new process will create ‘a resilient, dynamic approvals system as the government continues to rebuild the economy following the pandemic’.
The construction sector is undergoing several reforms
These plans follow a spate of government announcements regarding the housing and construction sector. The housing secretary Michael Gove recently delivered a speech outlining plans to deliver new homes in Leeds, London, and Cambridge.
These plans will be facilitated by nationwide reforms to the planning system. This included £24m of funding for planners, who are dealing with a considerable backlog.
This move comes after the Levelling Up, Housing, and Communities Committee published a report suggesting that the government may not achieve its goal of delivering 300,000 new homes annually by the mid-2020s.
Streamlining major infrastructure projects
More effective and efficient consultation and increased resources are all part of the fast-track plans.
The government have also promised to provide more support for local councils to help them speed up the delivery of major infrastructure projects. Support will be provided via the second round of the Innovation and Capacity Fund.
Ministers from the departments for the environment, energy, levelling up and transport will lead the transformation.
The government are also looking to employ a more effective system of data-led environmental reporting. It is hoped this will lead to faster and greener delivery of major infrastructure projects.
“Strong communities need to be supported by vital infrastructure; the transport links, power plants and buildings that underpin our everyday lives,” commented Prime Minister Rishi Sunak.
“Significant infrastructure projects don’t just ensure that people can get to work easily, do their recycling, and power their homes. They also create jobs, grow our economy, and help us become fit for the future,” he added.
The Nationally Significant Infrastructure Projects consultation will launch today (26 July) and run until 19 September. The bidding for the Innovation and Capacity Fund will remain open until 25 August.
“It is vital we can deliver the major infrastructure we need to regenerate our communities and level up. But local authorities and planners face barriers and red tape which have resulted in delays impacting on homeowners and housebuilders alike,” said Michael Gove.
“That’s why we are bringing forward changes to accelerate the infrastructure we need – these build on the package of measures I announced yesterday to unblock the planning system and build a better Britain,” he concluded.
