What is a NSIP?

NSIP stands for Nationally Significant Infrastructure Project. These large-scale planning works are concerned with energy, transport, water, waste water, and waste. New power stations and power lines, renewable energy projects including onshore and offshore wind farms, new airports and railway lines, and major road projects would all fall under this classification. You might recognise some recent NSIP applications such as the A303 bypass near Stonehenge, the London Luton Airport Expansion and the Bradwell B new nuclear power station plans in Essex. These are large and complicated building projects that can take years to plan, develop, and execute and will have a huge impact on the environment.

What is the history of NSIPs?

Infrastructure projects of this nature became official terminology under the Planning Act 2008. It was said that introducing NSIPs would “streamline” the planning and consent process and make things fairer and faster for both developers and local communities. The Government hoped it would encourage investment in infrastructure around the country because the process would provide certainty on planning decision timescales.

At the time, anyone planning a NSIP did, and still does, have to include an Environmental Impact Assessment.  

The first ever project was the Rookery South Energy from Waste Facility project back in 2013. And in 2021, the A1 road from Birtley to Coalhouse Improvement Scheme became the 100th Nationally Significant Infrastructure Project to be decided.

In 2013, the Growth and Infrastructure Act 2013 made small changes to the process, allowing a new category for business and commercial projects. Two years later, the Infrastructure Act 2015 sped up the planning process and the following year the Housing and Planning Act 2016 allowed housing related to an NSIP to be included.

What is the NSIP process in England and Wales?

A developer planning a NSIP has to consult with local affected communities before submitting its application. This means that the public gets an opportunity to have its opinions taken into account first. Instead of applying for planning permission through the Local Authority, the applicant applies for a Development Consent Order (DCO) through the Planning Inspectorate which then makes a recommendation to the relevant Secretary of State. It is the Secretary of State who makes the final decision over go ahead, granting a “development consent”. There are strict deadlines to meet and the whole process typically takes between 14 to 16 months from application to decision but this can vary hugely depending on the scale and potential impact of the project.

For example, a relatively recent NSIP is the Thames Water Reservoir planned for the southwest of Abingdon, known as the South East Strategic Reservoir Option (SESRO). Proposals for this 150 Mm3 reservoir were revised (to make it bigger) and published in August 2023. An initial public consultation launched just under a year later, in June 2024 and will close this summer. Thames Water says it then intends to submit an application for a DCO in 2026, together with another round of public consultation, before a decision is made. Construction is expected to begin in 2029.  

There are six stages to a NSIP:

·       Pre-application

·       Acceptance

·       Pre-examination

·       Examination

·       Recommendation and Decision

·       Post-Decision

A DCO automatically removes the need to obtain several separate consents, including planning permission, and is designed to be a much quicker process than applying for these separately.

What about Biodiversity Net Gain and NSIPs?

As ecologists it is our role, and duty, to minimise damage to our environment, and conserve and protect habitats and species as far as possible. With the size of NSIPs naturally resulting in more of an impact on the environment, these projects are incredibly important to assess from an ecological point of view.

Since the start of 2024, biodiversity net gain (BNG) has been a mandatory element of the Ecological Impact Assessment (EIA) planning process. The general idea is that any development work, whether residential, commercial, or large-scale infrastructure, leaves England’s biodiversity in a better state than before. Using a Biodiversity Metric as defined by DEFRA, ecologists are now asked to calculate a minimum 10% net gain in wildlife habitat within development plans - whether onsite through mitigation work or offsite through habitat creation.

At the time the Chair of Natural England, Tony Juniper, said: “Biodiversity Net Gain is a key moment on our path to halting the decline of nature, enabling developers to make a positive contribution through creating new habitats, increasing access to green spaces, and building healthy and resilient places for people to live and work.”

Initially, BNG was only mandatory for ‘major’ new developments, defined as those with 10 or more dwellings or an area greater than 0.5 hectares. Then in April 2024, ‘small’ sites were included (those with fewer than 10 dwellings or commercial projects covering less than 1,000 square metres).

At the time of writing, BNG will become mandatory for NSIPs in November 2025. The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA) says this has been done to phase in BNG’s introduction. Larger scale infrastructure projects need more time to incorporate BNG into their processes, and the industry asked for longer to prepare. However, we now have a Labour government in place and the new Chancellor, Rachel Reeves, has announced a series of planning reforms which she says will get Britain building the infrastructure it needs, including the 1.5 million homes in five years and clean power system that the government committed to in its manifesto. Whether that has implications for the development of NSIPs, we will have to wait and see.

How can Ecology by Design help with NSIPs?

We are a specialist team of ecologists experienced across EIAs and ecological surveying with – between us – a wealth of licences covering all of the UK’s protected species and habitats. We are experienced in surveys and assessments for developers working in the renewable energy industries.  In addition, although BNG is still to become mandatory for NSIPs, we have been helping clients navigate the process and keep abreast of the legislation since the concept was first introduced. For more information, please contact hello@ecologybydesign.co.uk.

July 2024