National Infrastructure Planning ensures that local community development happens in the right place at the right time to benefit local communities and the national economy. It allows national resources to be effectively coordinated to ensure their appropriate and efficient use.
It is critical that national and local infrastructure planning is coordinated
to avoid a conflict of interest from the needs and issues of local areas being
unnecessarily impacted by the needs of the UK.
Coordination of National and
Local Planning
National and local
infrastructure planning plays a critical role in identifying what local
development is needed, where, and what areas need to be protected or enhanced
and assessing whether a proposed development is suitable. The UK government’s
national planning reforms:
- Prioritise planning that enables
sustainable development, delivering homes and jobs to communities vital to
local economies.
- Simplify national and local
infrastructure planning.
- Ensure that local planning
decisions are taken at the lowest level with the involvement of local
inhabitants.
- Provide strong protections to
enhance and conserve the UK's rich historic and natural environment.
The National Planning
Policy Framework, published by the UK government in March 2012, was updated
numerous times in July 2018, February 2019, July 2021, and September 2023,
emphasising the political importance of national and local planning.
The National Planning Policy
Framework
The Planning Policy
Framework aims to balance the critical and sensitive needs of national and
local planning policies that cover infrastructure development's social,
environmental, and economic aspects. Its policies are considered in preparing
local infrastructure plans and significantly impact planning applications.
However, the policy does not
dictate how local and neighbourhood plans should be written or the outcome of
planning decisions locally. The policy provides a framework for producing
distinctive and unique regional and neighbourhood plans and development orders
that more accurately meet the needs of local communities.
As well as making national
planning policy easily accessible, the National Planning Policy Framework
serves many vital areas, such as:
- Providing a clear link for national
and local infrastructure plans to be jointly considered through an
integrated planning system.
- Highlighting the legal necessity
for local planning applications to be considered in terms of national
planning, which must be decided to coordinate both national and local
planning requirements unless other essential or material factors indicate
otherwise.
- Ensuring that sustainable
development is emphasised to ensure local planning authorities identify
and plan for their areas' community needs, taking the needs of the
environmental impacts of neighbourhood development into account by
prioritising planning applications that deliver sustainable infrastructure
projects.
- Prioritising the requirement to
achieve sustainable development by providing safeguards to conserve and
enhance the valuable natural and historic environment.
The Nationally Significant
Infrastructure Projects document is a separate national strategy planning
policy framework and legislation for major national infrastructure projects,
such as significant transport or power generation schemes.
The principal aim of this
strategy is to streamline decision-making for these complex and substantial
planning and development projects, making it easier, fairer, and more efficient
for local communities and national planning applicants.
Planning Policy Statements
A succession of UK government Policy Statements has set the national policy for the different types of infrastructure projects, placing thresholds above which specific infrastructure development projects are deemed strategic and substantially necessary to be examined nationally.
The Planning Inspectorate, sponsored by the Department for Levelling Up,
Housing and Communities, is an executive agency that deals with national
planning-related and specialist casework, infrastructure planning applications,
examinations of local plans and other planning-related issues such as planning
appeals in England.
The principal
responsibilities of the Planning Inspectorate are to administer planning
applications for significant national infrastructure projects on behalf of the
Secretary of State for the Environment. The Inspectorate typically examines
project applications to make recommendations to the relevant Secretary of
State, who will decide whether to refuse or grant infrastructure planning
applications.
For example, the Planning Inspectorate considers infrastructure planning applications for overhead power line construction projects above 132kV. However, before development consent is granted, planning applications are administered by the Planning Inspectorate but considered by the local planning authority, whose input is considered by the Planning Inspectorate before a final planning decision is made. Lessor planning applications for overhead lines would be determined under the provisions of the Electricity Act 1989, as amended.
A local planning authority objecting to a national planning proposal will lead
to a public inquiry by an independent inspector. After considering the
inspector's report, the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change will
make a final decision. The views of the local planning authority, local people,
statutory bodies, and other interested parties can be considered as part of the
decision-making process.
The Localism Act 2011
Until recently, strategies
to provide for the needs of larger-than-local areas or planning across local
planning authority boundaries were predominantly undertaken through regional
strategy. These plans covered multiple local planning authority areas. They
imposed specific requirements on the local communities within those areas, such
as the number of new houses they would need to accommodate.
However, planning is more
effective when the people it affects are integral to the process. The
government abolished this regional planning tier through the Localism Act 2011
to return plan-making to local communities.
Outside London, regional
strategies no longer form part of the statutory development plan, apart from a
minimal number of residual policies that remain essential. These residual
policies are only relevant in determining planning applications if they apply.
In London, one of the
Mayor's responsibilities is producing a strategic plan for the capital. Local
community plans must generally conform to the strategic plan, which will
continue to guide decisions on planning applications by London borough councils
and the Mayor.
Development Contributions to
Local Environments
Most development has an impact on or benefits from infrastructure such as roads, schools and open spaces. Therefore, growth should contribute towards mitigating its effects on such infrastructure.
Local planning authorities can place a Community Infrastructure Levy, a charge
that sponsors of new developments pay based on the size and type of
development. However, exemptions are granted for specific development
categories. The money raised through the Levy can fund the infrastructure
needed to support the area's development.
Local planning authorities
can set different rates for different regions, types and scales of development,
including low or zero levy rates, to ensure that the charge makes development
viable. Local planning authorities must first produce a 'charging schedule' to
charge the Levy. The charging schedule for the Levy is often developed
alongside a Local Plan and will be independently examined.
A 15% share of the Levy is
given to the parish council where the development occurred to ensure that
communities share the benefits and costs of development. If a neighbourhood
plan or neighbourhood development order, including a community right-to-build
order, is in place, up to 25% of the Levy may be passed to the parish council
to encourage local communities to plan for their area proactively.
Town and Country Planning
Act 1990
Where there is no parish
council, the local planning authority will retain these funds to spend in
consultation with the community. Planning obligations are commonly upheld to
mitigate the impact of proposed developments under The Town and Country Planning
Act 1990 (as amended), principally utilising section 106.
A local planning authority
may ask a developer to provide local infrastructure to mitigate the impact of
the development upon the local community by delivering road improvements,
providing social housing, or funding additional services. However, any requested
planning obligation must be tested to ensure that it is:
- Acceptable in planning terms to
make the development viable.
- Directly relates to the proposed
development.
- Reasonably and somewhat related to
the development in terms of scale.
The government is committed
to tackling the pressing need for housing. It has introduced several other
measures to encourage developers, investors, and councils to build houses. The
central government pays the "New Homes Bonus" grant to local planning
authorities to provide homes in their area, whether through building new homes,
converting existing buildings to residential uses or bringing long-term empty
homes back into use. The relevant local planning authority can spend the money
raised through the New Homes Bonus in any way they feel is appropriate to
support services in their area.
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