Today, the new government has removed the planning restrictions on onshore wind. Here, Rebecca Windemer summarises the changes and what we expect to see next.
Regen is delighted that the government has removed the planning restrictions on onshore wind that have been in place since 2015. As well as onshore wind being extremely popular, with the latest polling showing 78% public support, its growth will help increase energy security and lower electricity bills.
The changes, published today in the policy statement on onshore wind, involve the removal of footnotes 57 and 58 of the National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF). As a result, onshore wind will now be treated in the same way as other infrastructure projects, rather than with planning restrictions that prevent its development – the full details of the footnotes are in the image below.
Significantly, this change is taking effect from today (8 July) and the government will confirm this position to Parliament on 18 July. The change will also be incorporated into the revised NPPF, which is expected by the end of this month.
Additional actions set out in the policy statement
The policy statement also highlights that government will be progressing the below actions:
- Consult on bringing large onshore proposals into the Nationally Significant Infrastructure Project (NSIP) regime to support quick determination, followed by a revised National Policy Statement
- Publish an update to the Community Benefits Protocol for Onshore Wind in England
- Go further and set our proposals for wider changes to support renewable energy development
The Chancellor’s speech: wider planning commitments
The Chancellor’s speech today also set out the following commitments on planning:
- Reform the NPPF by the end of the month
- Prioritise energy projects in the planning system
- Employ 300 new planning officers in local authorities
At Regen we are continuing our work in this space to ensure that the changes outlined above result in a planning system that achieves the correct balance between speed, community involvement and community benefits. We will be pushing for changes to local and national planning policies as set out in our First 100 Days paper and our paper on local planning.