39 WG248
important demand. But this could risk data centres and industrial sites being prioritised over housing; therefore housing promoters need to understand much earlier where local capacity exists and where reinforcement will be required. The DCO reforms The Planning and Infrastructure Act is Infrastructure Project regime. The pre- application process for Development Consent Orders is being made less prescriptive, with the statutory requirement to consult on proposed applications being removed in favour of more bespoke approaches. Examinations are intended to focus more closely on principal issues, while post-consent change processes and
some judicial review routes are being tightened. For housing, these reforms are indirect but important. Faster consenting for transmission lines, substations, reservoirs, water infrastructure and other major assets should improve the strategic conditions for growth. But a national grid upgrade does not, by itself, connect an affordable housing scheme to the local distribution network or resolve a foul water constraint and the local interface remains critical. The NPPF and Energy Independence Bill The revised NPPF, expected to be published imminently, will be helpful in this respect because it gives greater weight to aligning growth with supporting infrastructure and
early engagement with infrastructure providers. Furthermore, the proposed Energy Independence Bill, announced in this year’s King’s Speech, may provide a clearer and more investable framework for developers, landowners and investors, with stronger coordination between generation, storage, transmission and demand. Perhaps most importantly, local
plans and planning applications need a clearer infrastructure pathway. Utility providers should be involved when growth locations are being shaped, not only once applications are advanced. Public bodies should be clearer about where strategic reinforcement is needed and how it will be funded. Developers, councils and infrastructure providers need better shared visibility of phasing, capacity and demand. The housing crisis is not only a failure
to plan enough homes; it is also a failure to plan enough infrastructure for those homes. If we, as a country, are serious about delivery, we need to stop seeing wires, pipes and substations as background detail but as integral to the housing system itself.
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