Nationally Significant Infrastructure Projects (NSIPs)

The 2008 Planning Act introduced a new planning system for applications to build nationally significant infrastructure facilities in England and Wales. These are the large scale facilitates that support the economy and vital public services.

The changes are a response to the delays and costs associated with taking major infrastructure projects through the existing planning system. These included long public inquiries and a lack of clarity around national policy and the need for developers to seek a range of different consents for the same project.

The new system covers applications for major energy generation, railways, ports, major roads, airports and water and waste infrastructure. Smaller infrastructure projects which fall below the thresholds set out in the 2008 Act, and other developments such as housing and retail, will continue to be dealt with under the existing planning system. The Government considers that the new system for Nationally Significant Infrastructure Project applications will be faster, fairer and more efficient.

How Planning Aid can help

The free planning advice service will be offering independent advice to individuals and groups, who cannot afford professional fees, on how they can have their say in the new process.

Planning Aid has been allocated funding from the central governement to provided the following services. Importantly we are independent of Infrastructure Planning Commission and government.

• Explaining how the new system will work.
• Offering the public independent advice during consultations on National Policy Statements.
• Offering training to groups and individuals.
• Facilitating public meetings (subject to staff availability and the eligibility of the person or group making the request).
• Helping direct members of the public to relevant sources of information.

We anticipate a substantial number of enquiries and requests for help understanding the new system. We will do our best to answer all of these.

Planning Aid England NSIPs advice line:
tel: 020 3206 1887
email: enquiries@planningaid.rtpi.org.uk

To help people to understand what each draft National Policy Statement covers Planning Aid has published a series of short leaflets which explain the new process and offer a summary of each of the various draft National Policy Statements. These leaflets are downloadable, free of charge.

National Policy Statements (NPSs)

The first draft National Policy Statements which set out the national need for particular types of infrastructure - have now been published. We are working with individuals and communities to help you understand them and have been working during the consultation period to ensure the public had an effective voice as possible.

We have published a series of short leaflets which summarize the statements which were published by the Department for Energy and Climate Change and the Department for Transport. They can be found at a special purpose web site www.nationalpolicystatements.org.uk set up by us to raise the level of public awareness of the new process.

Infrastructure Planning Commission

An independent body, the Infrastructure Planning Commission (IPC) was set up to examine and decide applications for new infrastructure development. They will base their decision on an application on the relevant National Policy Statements and consideration of the relevant evidence put forward relating to the impacts (beneficial and adverse) of the development. If the development contributes to meeting the need and is in accordance with the relevant National Policy Statement, then consent should be given.

However, in this year's Queen's Speech the new Government introduced a Decentralisation and Localism Bill which will see the IPC abolished in favour of an "efficient and democratically accountable system that provides a fast-track process for major infrastructure projects."

The Infrastructure Planning Commission has been accepting applications on a phased basis since March 2010. Further information is available on the Infrastructure Planning Commission website