Labour’s plans for the biggest shake up in infrastructure planning in decades has in the main been seen as a good thing.
Planning and Infrastructure Bill, due to be introduced to Parliament later this week, will streamline approvals for major energy projects, including offshore wind, solar, hydrogen, carbon capture and nuclear.
Reacting to the initial proposals Signe Norberg, Head of External Affairs of the Aldersgate Group, which represents environmentally centred organisations said: “The Planning and Infrastructure Bill is a critical milestone as the government looks to fulfil its promises to drive economic growth, ease the housing crisis and enable the delivery of crucial renewable infrastructure.
“As the government implements these changes, it must continue to recognise that robust public buy-in and a thriving natural environment are fundamental to driving growth, not in opposition to it.
“The Bill must incorporate a clear recognition of our climate and environmental targets. A well-designed planning system can enable the deployment of the renewable energy infrastructure that we need, while protecting nature, maximising community engagement, and unlocking private sector investment.
From the pro-growth campaign group Britain Remade, CEO Sam Richards added: “The government’s new planning bill is a big step in the right direction to getting Britain building again. It will speed up housebuilding and reduce the number of legal challenges to critical infrastructure. It will mean more jobs for builders and less work for lawyers.
“But there is a risk that the Government’s new approach on environmental red tape fails to consign £120m bat tunnels and fish discos to history. Only when this is achieved will we have a planning system that truly backs the builders and not the blockers.”
However Sue Ferns. Senior Deputy General Secretary of Prospect union, urged caution>
“It would be a mistake to see environmental and other regulators as ‘blockers’ rather than essential partners in delivering this mission.
“Sustainable economic growth should be founded on a regulatory system in which expert staff are deeply involved at all stages but this requires better resourcing of government agencies that have been hammered by deep and damaging cuts for over a decade.”
And Trevor Hutchings, Chief Executive of the Renewable Energy Association said the idea of compensating those living near new built infrastructure was right: “I welcome the government’s proposal to introduce energy bill discounts for those living near new energy infrastructure. This and other measures in the new Planning and Infrastructure Bill – including new powers to enable long duration energy storage – will help us achieve a clean energy system and unleash the net zero dividend for all consumers.”
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