Nationally significant infrastructure and the DCO route
Power stations, motorways and reservoirs are decided nationally, not by the council. Here is how the development consent order process runs and the two dates that matter.
A nationally significant infrastructure project is decided by a government minister, not by your council. Large power stations, motorway schemes, airports, ports, reservoirs and major energy transmission lines are consented under the Planning Act 2008 through a development consent order, and the local planning authority becomes a consultee rather than the decision maker.
For anyone living near one, that changes what to do and when. There is no committee to address and no eight-week determination period. There is a fixed national timetable, and the moment that matters most passes quickly.
What brings a project into the regime
The Planning Act 2008 sets thresholds by type of project rather than leaving it to judgement. The categories cover energy generation and transmission, highways and railways, airports and harbours, hazardous waste facilities, water supply and wastewater infrastructure, and pipelines.
Each category has a numerical threshold written into the Act, and those thresholds have been amended since 2008, including for onshore generating stations. Verify the current figure for the type of project you are dealing with rather than relying on a number from an older explainer.
Two other routes exist. A project below the threshold can be directed into the regime by the Secretary of State where it is of national significance, and a promoter can ask for that direction. Some projects that look large are still decided by the council, so check which regime applies before organising anything.
Where the project is decided locally, the ordinary process applies instead, including the statutory periods our note on the 8, 13 and 16 week determination periods explains, and the delegation arrangements covered in our piece on who signs off your application.
How a development consent order differs from planning permission
A development consent order is a statutory instrument, not a decision notice. That difference has practical consequences.
It bundles consents together. A single order can grant what would otherwise require planning permission, listed building consent, compulsory purchase powers, street works authorisation, rights over land and the disapplication of certain other controls. The promoter does not then have to return to the council for most of them.
It carries requirements rather than conditions. They function similarly, controlling details, hours, landscaping and monitoring, but they sit inside the order and are discharged by the body named in it, often the local authority.
And it is made by the relevant Secretary of State, following a recommendation from an Examining Authority appointed by the Planning Inspectorate. The council's formal contribution is a local impact report describing the likely effects on its area, alongside any representations it makes as a party.
National policy statements and their role
National policy statements are the policy framework for each sector, setting out the need for infrastructure of that type and the tests that apply.
Their legal effect is strong. Where a designated national policy statement covers the project, the Secretary of State must decide the application in accordance with it, subject to statutory exceptions such as where doing so would breach other legal obligations or where the adverse impacts would outweigh the benefits.
That is why arguments about whether the country needs the project rarely succeed at examination. The need case has usually been settled at the policy statement stage, after its own consultation and parliamentary scrutiny. Objections that focus on siting, design, mitigation, traffic, noise, ecology and the adequacy of the promoter's assessment carry far more weight than objections to the principle.
Read the relevant statement early. It tells you which impacts the decision maker is required to consider and what standard the promoter's evidence has to meet.
Statements are reviewed and redesignated from time to time, and the version in force when the application is decided is the one that governs. Where a review is under way, read both the existing and the emerging text, because promoters tend to write their case against the newer one.
Pre-application consultation
The regime front-loads consultation, so most of the influence is exercised before an application is ever submitted. Promoters publish a consultation statement, hold local events, consult the council and statutory bodies, and publicise the proposals.
The statutory framework around that stage has been the subject of reform, so check the current requirements on the Planning Inspectorate's national infrastructure pages rather than assuming the position described in older guidance still applies. What has not changed is the practical point. Design changes are far more likely at this stage than during examination, and a well-evidenced response about a particular receptor, a route option or a construction access is worth more than a petition.
Three things make a pre-application response effective. Name the receptor, whether that is a dwelling, a school, a footpath or a watercourse, with a grid reference or an address. Say what the effect would be and at what stage of construction or operation. And propose the change you want, whether that is a route variation, a screening bund, a different construction access or a restriction on working hours.
Keep your own record of what you submitted and when. It becomes useful later if the promoter's consultation report characterises the response in a way you do not recognise.
Registering as an interested party
This is the step people miss. Once the application is accepted by the Planning Inspectorate, there is a short window in which anyone can register by making a relevant representation, and it is usually around 30 days.
Registering makes you an interested party. That gives you the right to submit written representations during the examination, to attend and speak at hearings, to comment on the promoter's responses, and to receive notifications at each stage. Missing the window means the Examining Authority is not obliged to accept your later material, although it has discretion.
Keep the relevant representation short and factual. It is a summary of your case, not the case itself, and there will be later deadlines for detailed evidence. Say who you are, where you are in relation to the project, and which effects concern you.
Parish councils and residents' groups often register jointly and then divide the topics between them. That works well, provided one person tracks the examination timetable, because deadlines fall roughly every three to four weeks and they are not extended.
Timescales and who decides
The statutory timetable is fixed once an application is submitted.
- Acceptance: the Planning Inspectorate has 28 days to decide whether the application is of a standard that allows it to proceed to examination.
- Pre-examination: the registration period runs, an Examining Authority is appointed, and a preliminary meeting sets the timetable.
- Examination: six months from the preliminary meeting, conducted largely in writing with hearings where the Examining Authority considers them necessary.
- Recommendation: three months for the Examining Authority to report to the Secretary of State.
- Decision: three months for the Secretary of State to decide.
Roughly a year from acceptance to decision, then a six-week window for anyone to challenge the decision by judicial review in the High Court. Challenges are on legal grounds only, not on the planning merits.
The whole process, including pre-application work, commonly runs to several years. For a community group, the two dates worth putting in a diary are the close of the promoter's statutory consultation and the close of the registration period after acceptance. Everything else follows from those.
You can follow reform of the regime on our planning law updates timeline. This is general guidance, not legal advice. Check the position with your local planning authority or a qualified professional before relying on it.
Frequently asked questions
Who decides a major infrastructure project under the Planning Act?
The relevant Secretary of State, on a recommendation from an Examining Authority appointed by the Planning Inspectorate. The local planning authority is a consultee rather than the decision maker, although it submits a local impact report describing the effects on its area and can make representations like any other party.
How is a development consent order different from planning permission?
It is a statutory instrument that bundles several consents into one, and it can include compulsory purchase powers, listed building consent, street works authorisation and rights over land. It carries requirements rather than conditions, and those requirements are discharged by whichever body the order names.
Can I object on the basis that the project is not needed?
You can, but it rarely succeeds. Where a designated national policy statement covers the project, the Secretary of State must decide in accordance with it, and the need case is usually settled at that policy stage. Objections about siting, design, mitigation, traffic, noise, ecology and the quality of the promoter's evidence carry more weight.
How do I take part in the examination?
Register as an interested party by making a relevant representation during the window that opens after the application is accepted, usually around 30 days. That gives you the right to submit written representations, attend and speak at hearings, and receive notifications. Miss it and the Examining Authority is not obliged to accept later material.
How long does the process take?
Once an application is submitted, acceptance takes up to 28 days, examination runs for six months from the preliminary meeting, the Examining Authority reports within three months and the Secretary of State decides within three more. That is about a year from acceptance, with a six-week window afterwards to bring a legal challenge.
Sources and further reading
This article is general guidance about the planning system in England and, where stated, the rest of the UK. It is not legal or professional advice. Check your local planning authority’s validation requirements and take professional advice for your specific site.