The Royal Town Planning Institute (RTPI) welcomes the opportunity to provide evidence to the Department for Business, Energy & Industrial Strategy consultation on a draft National Policy Statement (NPS) for Geological Disposal Infrastructure.
We recognise that this NPS is non-site specific, instead “focussing on the high-level assessment principles against which development consent applications will be considered for geological disposal infrastructure in England and does not identify specific sites or areas.” Despite this, there are certain spatial and socio-economic principles which are likely to influence the choice of location, alongside the critical question of geological suitability. These could include remoteness from populated areas, accessibility by transport infrastructure and proximity to existing reprocessing plants. It might be useful for these broad principles to be included within the NPS.