Morning, Wednesday, 18th November 2026
Online
This conference will examine next steps for the Nationally Significant Infrastructure Projects regime, following recent planning and infrastructure reform.
Areas for discussion include the implementation of reform to the consenting framework, ways forward for environmental assessment, mitigation and biodiversity requirements, alongside improving the speed and predictability of decision-making, as well as measures to support investment and project viability, and approaches to balancing nationally significant infrastructure needs with environmental and community considerations.
Consenting reform - pre-application, examination, judicial review & National Policy Statements
It will bring together stakeholders and policymakers to discuss the implementation of measures for NSIPs under the Planning and Infrastructure Act 2025. Sessions will consider implications of changes to pre-application requirements, examination and decision-making procedures, reform to judicial review processes, proposals for a parliamentary authorisation route for clean energy projects designated as of Critical National Importance, and greater flexibility for projects following consent. The evolving role of National Policy Statements will be examined, including the statutory requirement for review at least every five years in force since February 2026, and what these changes mean in practice for project promoters, investors, local communities, environmental bodies and decision-makers.
Environmental assessment - Biodiversity Net Gain & the Nature Restoration Fund
The planned agenda will examine the integration of environmental objectives within the planning process. Sessions will explore implementation of mandatory BNG requirements for NSIPs for applications made on or after 2nd November 2026, the transition towards Environmental Outcomes Reports by the end of 2027, and the rollout of the Nature Restoration Fund and the first Environmental Delivery Plans. Impact on project design will be considered, alongside mitigation and compensation strategies, land use requirements, costs and delivery timescales, as well as approaches to coordinating these reforms with wider environmental and planning policy. Attendees will also explore wider questions around how environmental outcomes are measured, secured and managed over the lifetime of major infrastructure projects.
Infrastructure pipeline - delivery capacity, coordination, supply chains & financing
Further sessions will assess capacity across the infrastructure pipeline and what will be needed to support implementation of the reformed regime. Delegates will discuss project sequencing, workforce availability, supply chain resilience, financing and risk allocation, and coordination between government, regulators and delivery bodies. Discussion will also consider how NSIPs interact with local priorities, including approaches to community engagement, the management of cumulative impacts where multiple schemes are proposed in the same area, and the relationship between infrastructure development, economic growth, net zero ambitions and environmental objectives.
Overview of areas for discussion
- policy and consenting regime reform:
- implementing the Planning and Infrastructure Act 2025 - removal of mandatory pre-application consultation - new engagement guidance - examination procedures - consenting route flexibility
- National Policy Statements - mandatory five-year reviews, emerging updates and alignment with government priorities across key infrastructure
- Development Consent Orders and system performance - streamlining processes and supporting policy certainty and investment
- judicial review and legal challenge:
- judicial review reform - tighter procedural requirements - reduced routes to challenge and proposed structured challenge windows - implications for timelines, risk management and accountability
- consultation on extending reform beyond the NSIP regime - implications for timelines, risk management and accountability
- proposed Critical National Importance designations - parliamentary authorisation for selected clean energy projects - balancing accelerated delivery with scrutiny and public confidence
- environmental assessment and BNG:
- mandatory BNG requirements - implications for project design, land use and delivery costs - BNG boundary and off-site delivery
- BNG statements and guidance - calculation, delivery and monitoring of 10% net gain across NSIPs
- Environmental Outcomes Reports - transition from EIA/SEA - interaction with BNG and wider environmental policy
- the Nature Restoration Fund - integrating environmental objectives within the NSIP regime
- infrastructure delivery and system performance:
- cross-sector coordination and sequencing - strategic planning, supply chain constraints, and delivery timelines
- roles of central government, delivery bodies, and Planning Inspectorate - supporting implementation and improving efficiency
- investment and financing:
- investor confidence - policy certainty, risk allocation and financing conditions
- funding pathways - role of public and private investment in delivering NSIPs at scale
- supply chain and workforce capacity:
- skills requirements across planning, engineering, environmental and legal sectors
- local authority and supply chain capacity - managing increasing project volumes and readiness to deliver infrastructure projects at scale
- community impacts:
- managing cumulative impacts - multiple schemes in the same area - coordination between national priorities and local planning
- engagement with host communities and local authorities - balancing delivery with environmental, social, and economic priorities
