Planning horizon scanning: 2025 and beyond
It has been a busy year for planning with the introduction of the Planning & Infrastructure Bill to parliament in March which is now at Report Stage in the House of Lords and royal assent is expected before the end of the year. Further consultations and secondary legislation are also expected for changes still to be brought forward under the Levelling Up and Regeneration Act 2023.
The below is a snapshot of what is still to come as we head into Autumn, however, the government has also not written off the possibility of further legislation to continue to unlock development and economic growth, so 2026 promises to be just as dynamic for developers, landowners and local authorities alike.
| Topic | Proposed changes | Timing |
| Local decision making |
The Planning & Infrastructure Bill (PIB) proposes a number of changes to facilitate local decision making including:
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These provisions will take effect by regulations. |
| Streamlining and speeding up delivery of major infrastructure |
The PIB is primarily concerned with speeding up the delivery of infrastructure projects which are consented by way of development consent order under the Planning Act 2008. It seeks to achieve this through:
|
These provisions will take effect by regulations. |
| Spatial planning |
The PIB introduces spatial development strategies which will be prepared by “strategic planning authorities” (or “strategic planning boards” established by the government). Such strategies will address matters of strategic importance such as infrastructure and housing (this may include the type, quantum and/or distribution, including identifying general areas that are suitable for development) but should not make specific allocations. The PIB sets out various provisions for the process and timescale for the preparation of such strategies as well as provisions relating to the review, monitoring, alteration and replacement of a spatial development strategy. |
These provisions will take effect by regulations. |
| Environmental impacts | The PIB introduces environmental delivery plans (EDPs) to be made by Natural England (or another body via regulations) comprising of a package of conservation measures to address one or more environmental impacts of development (e.g. to address a single issue such as nutrient neutrality or a specific project). The EDP will identify the affected environmental features and the relevant impact, together with the conservation measures to address such negative impacts and contribute to an overall improvement in the environmental feature. Developers will pay a nature restoration levy for those matters identified in an EDP and then are no longer required to undertake any assessments or actions themselves in relation to any issues covered by the EDP. |
The provisions relating to EDPs will take effect by regulations. There has been real criticism that these provisions represent a major regression of protection of the natural environment (even with the government’s proposed amendments which were put forward for consideration in July during the Committee Stage in the House of Lords). Unsurprisingly, therefore, a cross party amendment tabled recently seeks to limit EDPs to matters relating to nutrient neutrality, water quality, water resource or air quality – watch this space. |
| The Levelling Up and Regeneration Act 2023 (LURA) introduced “environmental outcome reporting” to replace the existing environmental impact assessment procedure, which the government has confirmed it still intends to implement. | The LURA changes to environmental impact assessment will take effect by regulations and we are expecting a further consultation on this, though no clear timescales have been communicated as yet. | |
| Speeding up build out | In a bid to help secure projects being built out, the LURA introduced the ability for LPAs to issue completion notices and to decline to determine planning applications made by persons who applied for, or who are connected to, an earlier planning permission for the development of land in the LPA’s area which has not been built out at a reasonable rate. The government has confirmed as part of its Planning Reform Working Paper: Speeding Up Build Out. | These provisions will take effect by regulations. |
| Hillside | Amendments recently tabled by the government to the PIB include two alternative solutions to Hillside. The first would amend the Town and Country Planning Act 1990 to include a new provision confirming that the implementation of multiple permissions on the same piece of land would not render development unlawful save for where it is expressly sated in either of the permissions or relevant planning obligation. The second, in the alternative, confers a power on the Secretary of State to make regulations relating to the effect of implementation of a planning permission on the lawfulness of development carried out pursuant to another planning permission. | |
| Extending time for implementation of permissions | Amendments recently tabled by the government to the PIB include a provision which would extend the period for implementing a planning permission or listed building consent where the relevant consent is subject to legal challenge. The extension would be for one year in all cases, with a further year where the case goes to the Court of Appeal and a further two years where the case goes to the Supreme Court. | |
| National Planning Policy and Guidance | National Development Management Policies (introduced under LURA) will still be going ahead, though re-named as National Decision Making Policies (NDMPs). The indication from government to date is that these will prioritise growth sectors including clean energy, digital and technologies, and life sciences, for example. | The Housing Minister has indicated a consultation on NDMPs will be out before the end of 2025. |
| It is expected that as a corollary to the development of NDMPs, the NPPF may need to also be further revised. | Timing unknown – contingent on the above. | |
| Updates to the Planning Practice Guidance are also awaited in relation to viability (including reviewing existing guidance relating to green belt land and considering whether there are circumstances in which site-specific viability assessment may be taken into account on large sites and previously developed land). | The government has indicated this will be before the end of the year, however no specific date has been provided. | |
| Onshore wind and solar projects | Legislation to bring onshore wind back within the NSIP regime and to increase the qualifying MW criteria for solar (and onshore wind) projects was made in June 2025. | The Infrastructure Planning (Onshore Wind and Solar Generation) Order 2025 will come into force on 31 December 2025. |
| Recent amendments tabled by the government to the PIB seek to address the interference of onshore wind development with Ministry of Defence radar apparatus by conferring a power on the Secretary of the State to make regulations to delineate exclusion and restriction zones around defence seismic array systems and establish how a decision maker should determine planning applications where these fall within such zones. | The government has indicated a consultation on the proposed regulations is due “shortly”. | |
| Compulsory Purchase | The PIB proposes a number of changes to streamline compulsory purchase processes, adjustment of loss payments, and to disregard hope value (i.e. taking into account actual or prospective planning permission) in assessing compensation. | These provisions will come into force after two months from the date the Act is passed. |
| The PIB, as part of the EDP proposals, also confers on Natural England certain compulsory purchase powers in relation to land required for purposes connected with a conservation measure set out in an EDP. | The provision relating to Natural England’s new compulsory purchase powers will take effect by regulations. | |
| Affordable Housing uptake |
The government has indicated it is looking at developing a holistic package to address the issue of Registered Provider uptake of affordable housing to stop uncontracted homes sitting unoccupied. |
Timing unknown |
