Infrastructure Planning Blog

Whew, what a week for the infrastructure world in the UK. This week’s entry covers updates to the Welsh infrastructure consenting regime, the 10 year infrastructure strategy, the forthcoming changes in NSIP thresholds for solar and wind, as well as a new DCO decision.

Welsh whizzbangs

The Welsh have been very busy indeed. Readers will know that there is a proposal for a new “Infrastructure Consent” regime which is due to replace the “Development of National Significance” regime for Welsh infrastructure below the Nationally Significant Infrastructure Projects (NSIP) thresholds. The “IC” regime looks, smells and feels like the DCO regime with some subtle and not-so-subtle differences. The update this week is that the following regulations have now been made:

• The Infrastructure (Wales) Act 2024 (Commencement No. 1) Order 2025 commences provisions within the Act.
• The Infrastructure Consent (Pre-Application and Application Procedure and Transitional Provisions) (Wales) Regulations 2025 which make provision for pre-application procedures to be undertaken on a proposed significant infrastructure project and set out how the Welsh Ministers will process an application submitted to them.
• The Infrastructure Consent (Examination and Decision) (Procedure) (Wales) Regulations 2025 which make provision for the procedure for examination of infrastructure applications by the examining authority and decision-making processes to be undertaken on those applications.
• The Infrastructure Consent (Compulsory Acquisition) (Wales) Regulations 2025 which make provision for additional procedures for allowing the compulsory acquisition of land or rights over land as part of an infrastructure consent order.
• The Infrastructure Consent (Miscellaneous Provisions) (Wales) Regulations 2025 which make provision for matters outside of the main process but are essential to ensure the Infrastructure Act and new consenting process are appropriately implemented.

One thing to note here is that the time periods are generally longer than the DCO regime (e.g., a 42 days acceptance period; and an overall 18 month decision making framework) but substantively covers much of the same ground (e.g., Local Impact Reports, though it introduces the concept of a “voluntary” LIR). Here’s a few things to note from these new regulations (note, there are also fees regulations which we are not covering in a great amount of detail).

First, and of most interest to those who are currently involved in the process, the commencement of the regime is fixed as a pre-Christmas treat as 15 December 2025. For context, section 146 of the Welsh (Infrastructure) Act 2024 set out the pre-existing DNS and TCPA regimes would continue to apply where two conditions are met. The first condition is either an application is made, or where a notification in relation to a DNS application has been made.

The second condition relates to whether a “transition period” has ended (that period being 2 years from the coming into force of the Infrastructure Consent regime). You have to read the provisions carefully, but there are then some further provisions about what must happen in that transition period for the pre-existing DNS/TCPA regimes to apply (including on having to make an application in a 12 month period, and also having the consent itself in place before the end of the transition period). The second regulation highlighted above adds colour to these provisions in confirming that you can make an application for an Infrastructure Consent notwithstanding a pre-existing regime was utilised provided consultation and notification requirements are complied with (see regulation 32).

Second, and relatedly, the Infrastructure Consent regime still maintains the requirement for statutory consultation and the second regulation looks a lot like the 2009 Regulations which apply to DCO projects (e.g. specific requirements for plans/documents relating to rail and highway projects).

The last of the regulations cited above (the Infrastructure Consent (Miscellaneous Provisions) (Wales) Regulations 2025) importantly makes provisions for the kinds of projects which can be ‘directed’ into the IC regime (akin to a section 35 direction in the DCO world). Importantly, there is provision so that where the development is cross border, that it will not be a significant infrastructure project.

Schedule 1 to those regulations sets the following thresholds for what may be directed into the IC regime. These are both more granular, and more wide-ranging that the equivalent in England. You can get this sense by looking at the following examples of what may be directed in:

• The construction or extension of a solar generating station or wind generating station in Wales or the Welsh marine area that is expected to have an installed generating capacity of more than 35 megawatts but less than 50 megawatts
• The construction or alteration of an electricity sub-station
• Installation of an electric line above ground associated with a generating station in Wales or the Welsh marine area with a nominal voltage of 132 Kilovolts or less, with a length less than 2 kilometres (to the extent it is in Wales).
• The construction of a dam or reservoir in Wales where the volume of water to be held back by the dam or stored in the reservoir is expected to exceed 1 million cubic metres but not to exceed 10 million cubic metres

The Welsh have also published the Welsh (Planning) Bill, the primary aim of which is to bring together the various (Welsh) planning Acts and some subordinate legislation. There are a few interactions with the Infrastructure Consenting regime but the Bill is fundamentally about consolidating the various provisions relating to conventional planning.

We’re proposing to run a seminar on the regime shortly, so watch this space!

English everlasting gobstopper

Development consent has, following a positive recommendation from the Examining Authority, been granted for the Oaklands Solar Park project by the Secretary of State. Here are a few interesting things from the decision letter, and the DCO itself.

First, there was a desire for a specific Carbon Energy Management Plan from local authorities. This was resisted by the promoter who said that the various construction, operation and decommissioning management plans already dealt with carbon reduction. Both the Secretary of State and Examining Authority agreed with the promoter on this point.

Second, a common point on solar applications, the alternatives and options case was challenged with reference to alternative locations for solar panels such as building roofs, previously developed or brownfield land, sites away from villages and towns, or spread over smaller sites on a much wider area.

What appears to have been predominant in rebutting this was the clear need for solar generation, and also the fact that this level of generation can only be delivered where there is capacity at existing grid connection points, and that while a grid connection of more than 4km would be uneconomical, a search radius of 10km was selected as being sufficient to ensure an adequate range of potential options.

Third, Natural England raised a number of concerns, including in relation to the absence of a detailed Agricultural Land Classification (ALC) surveys for most of the cable corridor, whether professionals undertaking the surveys had adequate experience (including the provision of the professional credentials of those undertaking the surveys).

In relation to the former, the promoter submitted an Additional Land Classification Survey for Park Farm focussing on the cable route and the ES was updated. This seems like an unwelcome step: most projects do not include detailed surveys for ALC on cable corridors, but at least the post-acceptance period can be used to provide further information. It is hoped that Examining Authorities will, given the significant costs involved, push back against this in the future.

British bounty

The Government has published its 10 Year Infrastructure Strategy which – according to the forward – will allow for the “prioritising long-term outcomes over short-term announcements, providing the certainty and stability needed to attract investment, boosting British supply chains and jobs, and taking a joined-up view to improve planning and delivery across all types of infrastructure”. This is backed by , £725 billion investment into infrastructure over the next decade applicable in new transport, energy, health, water projects (and prisons, to boot!).

One of the key elements which will be of interest, in addition to the spending commitments over a longer period to avoid short-termism, is a new online infrastructure pipeline. That directory will list over 300 priority projects scheduled for development over the next decade. The strategy as a whole will be reviewed every two years as part of each government spending review giving flexibility – it’ll be interesting to see how that aligns with the certainty expected to be provided by the strategy.

One of the things that caught my eye was also the proposal for “improving its approach to project delivery and appraisal, for example through the reforms of the Green Book” – this seems essential to me: existing assessments are overly-conservative, and overstate the costs associated projects no doubt having a paralysing effect on new investments coming forward.

Sun lollies and winders

Finally, the SI which changes the solar NSIP threshold from 50MW to 100MW, and re-introduces onshore wind (also above 100MW) into the NSIP regime has now been made. These projects will be NSIPs from 31 December 2025. I do wonder whether there will be a bit of a tussle about the drafting which says that the 100MW threshold applies to “wind or directly from sunlight” – is the “or” there intended to cover co-located solar and wind which in total are 100MW in addition to stand-alone, non-co-located wind and solar each of which is over 100MW? Answers on a postcard.

This publication is intended for general guidance and represents our understanding of the relevant law and practice as at June 2025. Specific advice should be sought for specific cases. For more information see our terms & conditions.