Infrastructure Planning Blog

This week’s blog covers the latest decision on a DCO, for a highway near Coventry, some more consultation questions on nationally significant infrastructure project (NSIP) thresholds, and government support for eligible nuclear projects.

Latest DCO decision

The A46 Walsgrave Junction Development Consent Order has been granted, three days ahead of schedule (perhaps helped by the decision deadline being a Saturday).  It is National Highways’ 34th DCO meaning they have over 20% of all made DCOs.

The project involves converting an existing roundabout east of Coventry that gets regularly congested with through running and slip roads.  The roundabout is about 500m north-east of Binley Mega Chippy, which became a TikTok sensation during the pandemic.

This was not the most controversial DCO, with only 13 relevant representations, half a day's issue specific hearing, a three-and-a-half-minute open floor hearing and no compulsory acquisition hearing.  However, every project has its own issues.  The decision letter can be found here, here are some highlights from it.

The A46 skirts a site of special scientific interest at this location, called Coombe Pool (and one of the main issues was how many os were in Co(o)mbe). The SoS did not agree that consent under s28E of the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981 should not be required from Natural England at the implementation stage for works in a site of special scientific interest (SSSI), and rejected the view that those works should engage the 'reasonable excuse' defence under s28P of the 1981 Act. The SoS agreed with the ExA that the s28P defence was not available for a DCO, despite earlier DCOs (A14, M3 Junction 9) managing to disapply s28E explicitly.

There is no obligation to provide at least 10% biodiversity net gain given that it has ‘no basis in legislation’ – yet – and despite several other DCOs having a figure.  The applicant did express confidence that 10% could be achieved and this was not a subject on which Natural England disagreed, which no doubt helped.

The only impacts afforded more than 'little negative weight' were visual impact and cumulative impacts, but only during construction.

More NSIP threshold changes?

As mentioned in December, a consultation is running on a proposed comprehensive new draft of the National Planning Policy Framework, ending on 10 March. The current version (December 2024) and the new draft (December 2025) are very different, the latter looking more like a local plan than before, with policies with codes such as PM1 each followed by explanatory paragraphs.

The consultation document includes a whopping 225 multi-part questions, has there ever been a consultation with more?

Buried in there at questions 195 to 199 (but revealed by searching for 'Planning Act 2008', as I did) are five questions relating to the Planning Act when it comes to co-locating energy generation and data centres and possibly wider. Question 195 asks if there is enough flexibility to consent such projects under either the Town and Country Planning Act 1990 or the Planning Act 2008, and question 196 asks if the threshold should be raised for such projects. Question 198 asks if any change should be extended to other renewable energy projects.

The government is therefore not finished with tinkering with nationally significant infrastructure project thresholds; we shall see what the next proposals are in due course, probably in a few months.

Advanced nuclear framework

On 4 February the government published an 'Advanced Nuclear Framework' document.  This says it will invite bids from the private sector for nuclear projects from 4 March, which if successful will receive 'limited, in-principle, endorsement' from the government and could make them eligible for a 'contract for difference' arrangement.  They could also get 'political protection' from future governments, we shall see how that could be achieved.

National Policy Statement EN-7 gets a brief mention, as do the recommendations of the nuclear taskforce.

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