The government has published guidance about national infrastructure planning which members of the public may also find helpful. See the National Infrastructure Planning Guidance Portal. The guidance should be read alongside the Planning Act 2008 (the Planning Act).

This advice is non-statutory. However, the Planning Inspectorate’s advice about running the infrastructure planning system and matters of process is drawn from good practice and applicants and others should follow our recommendations. It is intended to complement the legislation, regulations and guidance issued by government and is produced under section 51 of the Planning Act.government.

What are Nationally Significant Infrastructure Projects?

NSIPs are large scale major development projects in England or Wales which fall into the following categories:

• energy
• transport
• waste
• waste water
• water

They can be projects such as:

• power generating stations, offshore wind farms, electricity lines
• new roads, railway lines, airports
• hazardous waste facilities
• waste-water treatment plants
• reservoirs

The primary legislation which applies to NSIPs is called the Planning Act 2008. When these types of development meet the threshold described in the Planning Act they need a Development Consent Order (DCO) before they can be built. As this type of development is nationally important, consent for a project needs to be given by the government rather than the local planning authority.

A DCO is a legal document which allows the applicant to build their proposed development. It is similar to a planning permission but can also include other types of consent, including listed building consent and compulsory acquisition powers. In Wales a DCO is only needed for certain energy generating projects, pipelines, underground gas storage facilities, overhead electricity lines and harbour facilities. The Secretary of State may also allow some types of major business and commercial projects, or some other types of projects, to apply for a DCO instead of a planning permission. The Secretary of State will only do this if they consider the project is nationally important. See paragraphs 002 and 003 of the government’s guidance on the Pre-application stage for more information about what schemes can apply for a DCO.

NSIP applications are handled by the Planning Inspectorate on behalf of the Secretary of State. The Examining Authority (appointed by the Planning Inspectorate on behalf of the Secretary of State) will make a recommendation to the Secretary of State responsible for the type of development on whether consent should be given. For example, for a new road project the recommendation will be sent to the Secretary of State for Transport. The Secretary of State makes the final decision about whether a DCO should be granted.

The NSIP process can take around 17 months from when an application is submitted to a decision being made. There are six stages to the process:

1. Pre-application
2. Acceptance
3. Pre-examination
4. Examination
5. Recommendation
6. Decision

Following an operational review of the NSIP system the government published a reform Action Plan. The government then consulted on the operational changes proposed in the Action Plan and published a response to the consultation in March 2024. To support the reforms legislation has been amended and the government has published new and updated guidance.

The Planning Inspectorate has developed a new pre-application service to support the government’s reforms which introduces, amongst other matters, a new Fast Track procedure which will be available for projects which meet the new Fast Track quality standard.

If the Examining Authority confirms the Planning Inspectorate’s provisional decision that an NSIP application is suitable for the Fast Track procedure this will affect the timing of the stages of the NSIP process and some of the activities during the stages.

See the government’s guidance on the Fast-track process for further information.

More details about the stages of the NSIP process can be found in the Planning Inspectorate’s Advice for members of the public – The stages of the Nationally Significant Infrastructure Project process and how you can have your say.

The people and organisations involved in the process

The applicant 

The applicant is the developer that wants to build the project. There are many types of developer that can design and build NSIPs, and they may employ advisors or consultants to help them. The applicant is responsible for consulting people about their project before submitting their application. The applicant must publish a ‘programme document’ which will show when and how they will engage with members of the public and others during the pre-application stage of the process.

Members of the Public

The applicant must carry out wide-ranging consultation about their project before they can submit their application to the Planning Inspectorate. Anyone can respond to the applicant’s consultation.

Local authorities

The land which would be used by the applicant to build and operate an NSIP may be within one local authority area or several, if it is a large spread-out scheme. If the development will be on land within a local authority’s boundary, then that local authority is called a ‘host local authority’. The host local authority will have a boundary with one or more other local authorities, known as ‘neighbouring local authorities’. The applicant must consult the host and neighbouring local authorities about their project.

See the Planning Inspectorate’s Advice for local authorities for further information about how local authorities are involved in the NSIP process.

Statutory Parties

Statutory parties are organisations who are experts in their area, such as the Environment Agency, or other parties that have local knowledge, such as parish councils. They can use their knowledge to advise applicants about different aspects of their project. A list of the statutory parties the applicant must consult about their project is included in the legislation.

Note about Town, Parish and Community Councils

The members of these councils are elected by the local community and represent the communities they serve. The elected members are known as ‘local councillors’. These local councils are ‘statutory consultees’ which means they have to be informed about a NSIP. Town, parish and community councils can have their say about a NSIP as an organisation. They do not have the same role as local planning authorities. See the Planning Inspectorate’s Advice for local authorities for further information about how local authorities are involved in the NSIP process.

The Planning Inspectorate encourages these local councils to engage with the applicant at the pre-application stage. They should also register to have their say at the pre-examination stage and include the full details of the issues they want the Examining Authority to consider. See the Planning Inspectorate’s Advice for members of the public – How to register to have your say and make a relevant representation.

Local councillors can also comment on a NSIP as an individual. It is important that when a councillor is commenting on a NSIP they clearly state in what capacity they are making their comment.

See How to be an interested party for information about how a statutory party can also be an interested party.

Affected persons

Affected persons are people or organisations who own or have an interest in the land that could be affected by a project. The applicant can seek powers to compulsorily acquire land, where necessary, to enable a project to be built and operated. This means that if development consent is granted the applicant will be able to acquire the relevant land (or rights over the land) without the consent of the owner.

When an applicant is designing and preparing an NSIP they will consider if they need to:

• have access to any land in order to carry out surveys
• acquire any land to enable the project to be built and operated

The applicant will need to gather information about who has an interest in the land. This could be:

• the owner of the land
• any tenants, lessees or occupiers of the land
• anyone who has a legal interest in the land, such as mortgage lenders

Once the applicant has this information they will begin negotiations with those people or organisations about gaining access, if necessary, or acquiring the land (or rights over the land) either permanently or temporarily.

Further information and advice about what the applicant can do to gather information about who has an interest in the land and gain access on to the land is available in the Planning Inspectorate’s Advice on obtaining information about interests in land and obtaining rights of entry to land.

Where required, the applicant must submit a Book of Reference (BoR) with its application. The BoR lists all the plots of land that would be directly affected by the project along with the details of each affected person who has an interest in each plot. All affected persons must be included in Part 1 of the BoR. The applicant should submit a ‘Land and Rights Negotiation Tracker’ with their application information. The tracker will explain the status of negotiations with affected persons and be updated during the examination.

Further information about compulsory acquisition, the BoR and what applicants must do to consult people with an interest in land is included at paragraph 024 of the government’s guidance on the Pre-application stage.

The Planning Inspectorate does not get involved in conversations about how much compensation should be paid for acquiring land or for the interference with rights over land. The applicant is responsible for answering all questions relating to compensation.

The applicant must consult all the affected persons about the project.

Anyone who obtains an interest in land that would be affected by the project, after the relevant representation period has closed, will not be an affected person. However they can ask the Examining Authority if they can become an interested party. This is called a ‘section 102A request’. See How to be an interested party for further information. See the Planning Inspectorate’s Advice for members of the public – The stages of the Nationally Significant Infrastructure Project process and how you can have your say for information about the relevant representation period. .

Category 3 Persons

These are people or organisations who might be entitled to make a relevant claim for compensation if consent is granted for the NSIP, and the DCO is fully implemented. A relevant claim means a claim under:

• section 10 of the Compulsory Purchase Act 1965
• part 1 of the Land Compensation Act 1973
• section 152(3) of the Planning Act

The applicant may not seek to compulsory acquire or temporarily possess a category 3 persons land. Nevertheless, that person may be entitled to make a relevant claim.

Category 3 persons must be included in Part 2 of the BoR and the applicant is responsible for identifying them. Anyone who thinks that they may be entitled to make a relevant claim should contact the applicant during the pre-application stage of the process, and not the Planning Inspectorate. The applicant is responsible for answering all questions relating to compensation.

Further information about compulsory acquisition, the BoR and what applicants must do to consult people with an interest in land is included at paragraph 024 of the government’s guidance on the Pre-application stage.

See How to be an interested party for information about how a category 3 person is also an interested party.

Anyone who obtains an interest in land and considers that they may be entitled to make a relevant claim for compensation, after the relevant representation period has closed, will not be a category 3 person. However they can ask the Examining Authority if they can become an interested party. This is called a ‘section 102A request’. See How to be an interested party for further information

Other Persons

The Examining Authority may choose to invite other persons to the preliminary meeting which takes place at the end of the pre-examination stage of the NSIP process. For further information about the preliminary meeting and the stages of the NSIP process see the Planning Inspectorate’s Advice for members of the public – The stages of the Nationally Significant Infrastructure Project process and how you can have your say.

Other persons cannot be interested parties (See How to be an interested party) and therefore do not have the right to have their say and take part in the NSIP process. However, the Examining Authority may consider that a person or organisation could provide information that would be helpful to the examination of the application. Or they may consider that the person or organisation could be affected by the project but:

• had not been able to register as an interested party due to exceptional circumstances
• are not able to request to become an interested party under section 102A of the Planning Act

Other persons can submit a written comment or request to speak at hearings by the deadlines given in the examination timetable, but it will be for the Examining Authority to decide if they want to hear from them.

The Planning Inspectorate

The Planning Inspectorate deals with the NSIP process on behalf of the Secretary of State and examines applications for development consent.

The need for national infrastructure development is set out in the National Policy Statements, which are produced by the government. Anyone who has any views on something that is included in a National Policy Statement should raise this with their Member of Parliament and not the Planning Inspectorate.

Before an applicant submits a NSIP application it will contact the Planning Inspectorate to discuss the project. Further information about the Planning Inspectorate’s pre-application service for applicants, and the advice provided by the Planning Inspectorate to applicants, can be found in The Planning Inspectorate’s Pre-application Prospectus.

The Planning Inspectorate can give advice to anyone else interested in the project. This advice will also be published on the Find a National Infrastructure Project website along with the name of the person or organisation who has been given the advice.

The Planning Inspectorate’s website provides more information about its services and values.

The Examining Authority

The Examining Authority is responsible for examining the NSIP application and making a recommendation to the Secretary of State on whether development consent should be granted. They will look at balancing the country’s needs and the applicant’s proposed project with the likely impacts on the local area, listening carefully to the views of communities, statutory parties and others. Following the examination, the Examining Authority must submit a recommendation report to the Secretary of State setting out its main findings, conclusions and recommendations in relation to the NSIP application. The report will have specific regard to whether the proposed development is in accordance with any designated National Policy Statement and will take account of any submitted Local Impact Report and any other prescribed or relevant matters that might be important to the Secretary of State’s decision.  

After an application has been submitted and accepted by the Planning Inspectorate an Examining Authority will be appointed. The Examining Authority is made up of either a single independent planning inspector or a panel of up to five inspectors who are employed by the Planning Inspectorate. The appointment will be made after considering the nature, scale and complexity of the case.

The Planning Inspectorate’s case team

The Planning Inspectorate’s case team will include a case manager and a case officer who will be supported by a case administration team. The case team will also have support from others in the Planning Inspectorate, for example members of the environmental services team.

Members of the public can contact the case team if they have any queries about a NSIP application or about the NSIP process in general. Contact details can be found on the Find a National Infrastructure Project website.

The Secretary of State

The Secretary of State is the elected Member of Parliament for the area of policy related to the type of development. They will make the final decision about whether development consent should be granted. For example, a new road will fall under the transport policy area, so the Secretary of State for Transport will make the decision.

How to be an Interested Party

The legislation that deals with NSIPs explains who interested parties are and what rights they have. See Section 102 of the Planning Act 2008.

Anyone who correctly registers to have their say before the deadline will become an interested party. See the Planning Inspectorate’s Advice for members of the public – How to register to have your say and make a relevant representation for further information.

The following people and organisations are automatically interested parties, but they should still register to have their say to make sure that the Examining Authority knows what their views are early in the process:

• all those with an interest in the land that would be affected by the project – these people and organisations are interested parties and affected persons
• anyone who the applicant has identified may be entitled to make a relevant claim for compensation – these people and organisations are interested parties and category 3 persons
• the host local authorities – these are interested parties and statutory parties
• statutory parties – these organisations can be interested parties and statutory parties

Section 102A request

Anyone who has obtained an interest in land that would be affected by the project, after the relevant representation period has closed, can ask the Examining Authority if they can become an interested party. This is called a ‘section 102A request’. For example, a person who has recently bought a property that may be affected by the project may not have been contacted by the applicant at the pre-examination stage to tell them that the application has been accepted by the Planning Inspectorate. Therefore, they may not have known that they needed to register to have their say. See the pre-application stage information in the Planning Inspectorate’s Advice for members of the public – The stages of the Nationally Significant Infrastructure Project process and how you can have your say for further information about the relevant representation period.

To make a section 102A request the person or organisation should contact the Planning Inspectorate’s case team and provide all of the following details:

• full name, address, email and telephone number
• the address of the land that would be affected
• what their interest in the land is:
  • Owner
  • Lessee
  • Tenant
  • Occupier
  • Other power to sell, convey or release the land
• the land registry title number (if available)
• the date on which the land was purchased or leased or when the interest in the land was obtained
• where relevant, why they consider they could make a relevant claim for compensation (see Category 3 persons)
• any other relevant information

The Examining Authority will consider the request and confirm if the person or organisation will be an interested party.