The UK government has updated its guidance on how the biggest infrastructure projects in England get approved. The July 2026 edition of the National Infrastructure Planning Guidance applies to England and, in limited circumstances, to Wales and Scotland.
It covers what the Planning Act 2008 calls Nationally Significant Infrastructure Projects, or NSIPs. These are large developments in energy, transport, water, wastewater and waste: power stations, wind farms, major roads, railways, airports, reservoirs and treatment plants. Because they matter nationally, they are decided nationally and not by a local council.
Why this edition changed
The NSIP regime has run since 2010, and it has been amended several times. This version reflects changes made through the Planning and Infrastructure Act 2025. The government says it drew on input from industry, local authorities and statutory bodies, and on responses to a public consultation on streamlining infrastructure planning held in Autumn 2025.
One change affects applicants directly. The strict statutory rules on consultation that used to sit in the Planning Act are gone, so applicants now decide how to organise their time and resources before applying. The guidance still calls early engagement “extremely important”.
Five stages, with clocks
Applicants usually seek a Development Consent Order, or DCO. Energy applicants are normally private developers. For transport, the applicant is often a public body such as National Highways. Applications go to the Planning Inspectorate, an executive agency sponsored by the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government, which acts for the Secretary of State at several points.
The process runs in stages.
Pre-application has no statutory deadline. The applicant prepares, talks to local authorities, public bodies and people whose land or homes might be affected, then files.
Acceptance is the Inspectorate’s decision on whether to take the application forward. The statutory limit is 28 days.
Pre-examination begins when the Inspectorate appoints an Examining Authority of between 1 and 5 inspectors. Councils, bodies such as Natural England, the Environment Agency and Historic England, local communities and members of the public can register as interested parties by sending a written relevant representation. There is no statutory deadline, but the expectation is that this stage finishes within 4 months. Councils are encouraged to file Local Impact Reports, even in draft, so their evidence can shape the Examining Authority’s Initial Assessment of Principal Issues.
Examination is mostly written. The inspectors can put questions, ask for more comments, hold hearings where needed and visit sites. The statutory limit is six months.
Recommendation is the last step for the inspectors. They write a report with findings and a proposed decision and send it to the Secretary of State within three months.
Keeping to the deadlines
The guidance wants examinations tightly focused on the matters that count most for the decision. A cleaner recommendation, it says, lowers the chance that the Secretary of State has to ask for more information and extend the decision stage. Because NSIPs are nationally important, “sticking to the statutory deadlines is important.”
The guidance is aimed at applicants, legal advisers, councils, statutory bodies, local communities and other interested people. Applicants with a link to Wales or Scotland are told to consider whether extra requirements apply there and to get legal advice. Updates will follow as law, policy and technology change. If a revision lands mid-process, an application is judged under the guidance in place for its current stage, and any transitional arrangements will be spelled out.
Sources
- Planning Act 2008: Introduction to National Infrastructure Planning Guidance (July 2026)
- Planning Inspectorate
