The UK unveils reforms to reduce infrastructure planning timelines by 12 months

The UK government has unveiled planning reforms aimed at reducing the approval timeline for major infrastructure projects in Britain by up to 12 months. The measures apply to projects such as solar parks, wind parks, nuclear power plants, reservoirs and new transport links (UK government press release, 02/07/2026).

From the end of July 2026, the reforms will eliminate the requirement for mandatory pre-application consultations for Nationally Significant Infrastructure Projects (NSIP). Under the revised framework, developers will receive technical assistance and guidance from the Planning Inspectorate at an earlier stage, before submitting their applications, replacing the current consultation process. In addition, the examination phase will concentrate on the most significant planning issues in order to speed up project delivery.

“Thanks to new reforms, more projects will also enter the pipeline at a faster rate – putting the government on track to exceed its target of at least 150 major infrastructure decisions this Parliament”, said the government.

A constrained electricity grid continues to be one of the main barriers to Britain's clean energy objectives. While wind and solar capacity have expanded rapidly, the development of the transmission network has failed to keep pace.

According to the UK grid operator NESO, Britain will need to invest approximately GBP89bn (EUR104bn) during the 2030s to upgrade its electricity grid, as power demand is projected to rise by more than 30% by the mid-2030s, driven by the growing uptake of electric vehicles, new housing, industry, and AI-enabled data centres (KEI, 03/07/2026).