UK planning bill reaches endgame

The UK government’s new Planning and Infrastructure Bill has cleared its final stages in the House of Lords and is now ready to receive Royal Assent.
Energy minister Michael Shanks said the “landmark” legislation would help the sector to deliver Clean Power 2030 and “the infrastructure in Britain that we need for economic growth”.
The Bill includes reforms to grid connection queues and the provision of benefits to communities hosting new transmission infrastructure.
It is also intended to accelerate permitting of Nationally Significant Infrastructure Projects via measures that were consulted on earlier this year.
They include an overhaul of statutory consultation requirements, the re-assessment of national policy statements and reforms to the judicial review process.