Barely a week in office, and the Labour government has issued a raft of new policy announcements, leaving no doubt that planning is to be high on the political agenda.
‘Delivering our clean power mission will help boost Britain’s energy independence, save money on energy bills, support high-skilled jobs and tackle the climate crisis. We are therefore committed to doubling onshore wind energy by 2030. That means immediately removing the de facto ban on onshore wind in England, in place since 2015. We have revised planning policy to place onshore wind on the same footing as other energy development in the National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF).’
The Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities
Until now, applications for onshore wind have had to meet strict tests determined by national policy to gain approval. These tests required wind farm sites to be allocated by local authorities or communities, or alternatively, where not allocated, applications had to demonstrate the proposal had community support. This set an incredibly high bar to gaining permission as it was possible to interpret the existence of opposition to a proposal as meaning a scheme was not acceptable.
The new Labour government confirmed on 8 July 2024 that with immediate effect, compliance with these tests will no longer be required . This means that now applications for onshore wind will be treated in the same way as other schemes proposing energy development.
The announcement will be welcome news for renewable energy promoters who had seen a significant fall in applications for onshore wind since the ‘ban’ was originally introduced.
More planning changes expected
‘Planning reform has become a byword for political timidity in the face of vested interests and a graveyard of economic ambition. Our antiquated planning system leaves too many important projects getting tied up in years and years of red tape before shovels ever get into the ground. We promised to put planning reform at the centre of our political argument – and we did. We said we would grasp the nettle of planning reform – and we are doing so.’
In her first speech as Chancellor of the Exchequer, Rachel Reeves indicated further changes to the planning system will be announced.
The National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF) is to be reformed to give a new growth-focused approach to the planning system with changes to include proposals to restore mandatory house building targets. A consultation on the proposed amendments is to be launched by the end of July. A commitment to support local planning authorities by bringing in 300 additional planning officers across the country has also been made. The King’s Speech also announced a Planning and Infrastructure Bill will be introduced to parliament. The intention of this bill is to make improvements to the planning system at local level as well as to streamline the process to accelerate house building and infrastructure delivery.
We will continue to monitor all forthcoming announcements, advising on the implications of policy changes for landowners, developers, planners and local authorities.
Contact Us
At Salmon Planning Company our team of highly experienced Chartered Planning Consultants are perfectly positioned to help you navigate the forthcoming changes to the planning system. Do contact us at info@salmonplanning.co.uk or by calling 01749 671500.
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