UK planning reform cuts datacenter approval time by removing mandatory public consultation
By
Dan Robinson
Summary
The UK government is reforming the Planning and Infrastructure Act 2025 to streamline approval for Nationally Significant Infrastructure Projects (NSIPs) in England and Wales, which now includes datacenters. The changes will scrap the statutory requirement for pre-application consultation, cutting approximately one year off the approval process. This means datacenter developers can bypass local community consultations (often used by NIMBYs to delay projects), speeding up construction of major digital infrastructure.
Source
bskyUK planning reform cuts datacenter approval time by removing mandatory public consultationtheregister.comKey quotes
· 3 pulledReform of the Planning and Infrastructure Act 2025 aims to cut a year off the approval process for Nationally Significant Infrastructure Projects (NSIPs) in England and Wales – a category that now includes datacenters.
The Ministry of Housing, Communities & Local Government (MHCLG) confirmed that changes under the Act, taking effect later this month, will scrap the statutory requirement for pre-application consultation on NSIPs.
Overhaul of process could give NIMBYs one year less to complain
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