The government has published the following Working Paper, which "invites views" relating to Nationally Significant Infrastructure Projects (NSIPs):

Consultation document:

• January 2025: Planning Reform Working Paper - Streamlining Infrastructure Planning (pdf) (link).

Notes:

• The "Summary" at the start of the above document includes the following information:
  - "This paper invites views on further action the Government could take through the planning system to streamline the development of critical infrastructure, in particular Nationally Significant Infrastructure Projects (NSIPs), across England. It focuses specifically on potential legislative changes, principally to the Planning Act 2008. In doing so, it proposes options for:
  >>> a. reviewing National Policy Statements (NPSs) on a more regular basis and making it easier to update them in the interim;
  >>> b. protecting the role of consultation in the consenting process but making it less burdensome;
  >>> c. supporting delivery of infrastructure post-consent;
  >>> d. allowing for appropriate flexibility in the process applied to projects where this is merited; and
  >>> e. strengthening statutory guidance to ensure clarity over what is and is not required.".
  - "The objective of these reforms is to deliver a faster, more certain, and less costly NSIP regime, thereby ensuring it can deliver high quality infrastructure and drive forward the growth and clean power commitments set out in the Government’s Plan for Change. If taken forward, the Planning and Infrastructure Bill would be used to implement the legislative reforms outlined in this paper. We are seeking views on these proposals from stakeholders including communities, infrastructure and clean power developers and local authorities. Feedback from the working paper will inform the next stage of policy development.".
• Note: The webpage (link) for the above consultation document includes the following information:
  - "Please note that this is not a formal consultation and is instead intended to inform discussions with the sector, to determine whether and how to take these proposals forward. Alongside these discussions, we welcome responses to the series of questions that are posed at the end of the paper. There is no formal deadline, and we will confirm next steps on these proposals in due course.".
• UPDATE: On 13/02/2025 the government updated the webpage (link) for the above consultation document to add a deadline of 26/02/2025 for responses to be submitted.
• UPDATE: On 13/02/2025 the government added the above consultation document to the "Collection - Planning Reform Working Papers" page (link).