Infrastructure consent order regime in Wales: Updates

It has been two months since the new infrastructure consenting regime in Wales came into force and January and February have brought a trickle of early updates and announcements. Let’s take a look at what these are.

New regulations

Firstly, two new regulations have been introduced:

1. The Infrastructure Consent (Correcting Errors and Applications to Change or Revoke Infrastructure Consent Orders) (Procedure) (Wales) Regulations 2026
2. The Infrastructure Consent (Compensation for Changing or Revoking Infrastructure Consent Orders) (Wales) Regulations 2026

Both will be coming into force on 16 March.

The first set of regulations (Correcting Errors and Applications to Change or Revoke Infrastructure Consent Orders) set out the procedural rules for how applicants and Welsh Ministers should deal with:

1. Correcting errors in Infrastructure Consent Orders (ICOs)
2. Applications to change an ICO
3. Applications to revoke an ICO
4. Processing those requests within the new consenting framework

Taken together, these provisions are essentially the Welsh regime’s version of the “change” mechanisms we see in the Development Consent Order (DCO) system. They offer a structured route for correcting mistakes or revising an ICO once it has been made. While the Welsh approach is inevitably tailored to the Infrastructure (Wales) Act 2024 (the 2024 Act) and its ministerial decision-making model, the underlying logic will feel familiar to anyone used to the DCO process: a clear procedure, a defined application pathway, and a predictable set of requirements for applicants to follow.

The second set of regulations (Compensation for Changing or Revoking ICOs) set out how claims for compensation must be made when an ICO is changed or revoked by Welsh Ministers. Schedule 2 to the 2024 Act makes provision about compensation where an ICO is changed or revoked by Welsh Ministers without an application being made. This second set of regulations make provision for the way in which, and the period within which, a claim for compensation under that Schedule must be made. They also specify the minimum amount of compensation for depreciation under paragraph 2 of Schedule 2 (£20).

Designation of Infrastructure Policy Statement

The first Infrastructure Policy Statement has been published: Future Wales, the national development plan that has been in place since 2021, has been designated as an Infrastructure Policy Statement under section 127 of the 2024 Act. This confirms that Future Wales will continue to guide the determination of ICO applications under the new consenting regime.

For now, this represents an important difference in approach to the Nationally Significant Infrastructure Projects (NSIPs) regime, where decisions have to be made in accordance with the relevant National Policy Statement (NPS) (where one applies), which rank above the National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF) in terms of weight and importance to decision-making. The NPPF is a material planning consideration but does not override or displace an NPS which is the primary and binding policy framework for DCO decisions. This clear hierarchy has permitted the development of sector specific policy through the NPSs such as the designation of Critical National Priority status for renewable energy infrastructure, which is afforded great weight in the planning balance.

Clearly in Wales, it is still early days, and we don’t know whether further sector specific Infrastructure Policy Statements could emerge in time. However, at this stage, it does feel like a missed opportunity to align the new consenting framework with a more specialised, infrastructure focused policy architecture from the outset. Alternatively, there may be public opinion which supports this designation because it is entrenching existing Welsh policy. You can find the Written Statement announcing the new Infrastructure Policy Statement designation here.

New ICO guidance

The Welsh Government has added to its growing suite of guidance notes for the ICO regime with the publication of Pre-application Consultation and Publicity Guidance. This provides some needed clarity on what, exactly, applicants must consult on before submitting an ICO. Notably, the guidance sets out a full list of the application documents to be consulted on to satisfy Regulation 8 and Part 3 of the Infrastructure Consent (Pre-Application and Application Procedure and Transitional Provisions) (Wales) Regulations 2025. A few key points stand out:

• Compulsory acquisition: where an ICO includes compulsory acquisition powers, applicants must give written notice to anyone they reasonably believe has a legal interest in the affected land, having undertaken “diligent enquiries”.
• Environmental statement: for consultation purposes, the Environmental Statement should be in draft form and if following consultation, it requires amendments, the amended draft should be re-consulted upon, with the relevant statutory and specialist consultees. This could be quite a significant undertaking in some cases but does encourage consultation on a mature set of proposals.
• ICO and EM: the new Guidance confirms that applicants have to publish a draft ICO and draft Explanatory Memorandum (EM) in English and Welsh as part of pre-application requirements. Similar to the DCO context, the EM has to justify the need for the project and explain each power or provision sought in the ICO and why it is included, as well as clearly setting out any revoked or deemed consents where such provisions are found in an ICO.

As for publicity requirements, all of the consultation documents have to be published on the applicant’s website within three months of the pre-application notice of acceptance. Three months is not a long time, so applicants essentially need to be more or less ready to launch consultation when notifying. Applicants must also publish the following notices in English and Welsh:

• a site notice in at least one place on or near the land for not less than 42 days;
• where the development is a linear scheme exceeding 5 kilometres, a site notice at intervals of no more than 5 kilometres;
• a notice in a local newspaper for a minimum of 7 days;
• for developments located within the Welsh Marine Area, the notice must be published in at least one fishing journal (if one is in circulation in the area) and Lloyd’s List; and

Applicants must also hold at least one public engagement event in the locality of the development.

Find all of the Welsh Government guidance on the consenting regime here.

We will be maintaining regular blogs as updates on the new Welsh regime are announced so watch this space. If you have any queries or want to know more about the new regime, please do not hesitate to contact Sarah Clark (Partner), Tom McNamara (Legal Director) or Beth King (Associate) in our Infrastructure, Planning and Parliamentary team.

This publication is intended for general guidance and represents our understanding of the relevant law and practice as at February 2026. Specific advice should be sought for specific cases. For more information see our terms & conditions.