The UK government has unveiled a new fast-track planning process for offshore wind and other major infrastructure projects.
Secretary of State for Levelling Up Greg Clark said the measures will mean shorter deadlines can be set for examinations of Nationally Significant Infrastructure Projects, speeding up decisions and getting projects built more quickly.
The relevant Secretary of the State – for example for Energy, Transport, Environment or Levelling Up – will decide whether to put the shorter deadline in place, Hands said.
This also means decisions on smaller (non-material) changes to projects that have already been approved can be made much more quickly, added the government.
Currently these can take up to 16 months, sometimes causing significant delays to delivery, said Clark.
“These changes will help deliver new infrastructure more quickly, by speeding up the planning process which often moves too slowly,” he added.
The government will make the changes to the Nationally Significant Infrastructure Projects process through amendments to the Levelling Up and Regeneration Bill.