The UK government says a rule change will stop “cynical” legal challenges getting in the way of its Plan for Change.
Today (23 January), the government has announced it will scrap current “excessive” rules that mean unarguable cases can be brought back to the courts three times if legal challenge is brought against a planned infrastructure project.
It follows promises made alongside its Plan for Change that saw UK prime minister Keir Starmer pledge to streamline the approval process of 150 major infrastructure projects as a reiteration of the government’s commitment to clean power.
The overhaul will allow just one attempt at a legal challenge for “cynical cases lodged purely to cause delay”. It is throwing out the ‘paper permission stage’ which is currently the first legal challenge that can be made against a project, and change primary legislation so that where a judge in an oral hearing at the High Court deems a case ‘Totally Without Merit’, it will not be possible to ask the Court of Appeal to reconsider.
According to the government, 58% of all decisions on major infrastructure have been taken to court, disrupting its plans for growth. The new rules will accelerate the build times of nuclear plants, trainlines and windfarms, the government says, in line with its Plan for Change.
It says the new approach will “strike the right balance” between justice and pushing back against a challenge culture where the courts are used to obstruct decisions taken in the national interest.
Examples of this include wind farms in East Anglia that were delayed for over two years by a group which “dragged the case through the courts and lost at every turn”, and a case dismissed by the High Court brought against Sizewell C nuclear plant.
PM Keir Starmer teased the news with a LinkedIn post.
Starmer commented: “For too long, blockers have had the upper hand in legal challenges – using our court processes to frustrate growth. We’re putting an end to this challenge culture by taking on the NIMBYs and a broken system that has slowed down our progress as a nation.”
The move is the result of an independent review into legal challenges against nationally significant infrastructure projects (NSIPs). The author of the review, Lord Banner KC, said: “My review concluded that there is a clear case for streamlining judicial reviews on consenting decisions for nationally significant infrastructure projects, given that delays to these projects cause real detriment to the public interest.”
The news was well received by Richard Chacksfield, energy transition director at Bilfinger UK, which provides services and consultancy for all life cycle phases of key energy and industrial assets. Chacksfield said: “Complex and uncertain planning regulations can deter infrastructure investment, resulting in delays that directly impede the UK’s ability to rapidly deploy renewable energy, upgrade critical infrastructure, and meet urgent climate and energy security objectives.
“By streamlining planning approvals, these reforms can help reduce investment hesitation, lower project costs, and accelerate the deployment of essential infrastructure needed for the UK’s economic and environmental goals.”
