Infrastructure Planning Commission
On 29 June 2010 the Government announced, 'Planning Quango Closes', that it was scrapping the new Infrastructure Planning Commission set up in October 2009. The information below is therefore now obsolete but this page will remain active for archive purposes for the time being.
The Commission is there to decide on some of the country's most controversial and environmentally sensitive forms of development.
It's intended to be independent of the Government, although its members are appointed by the Secretary of State.
The new body, currently (December 2009) in advice-giving mode, started taking applications from 1 March 2010. It is charged with making final decisions on proposals for major new development relating to energy, such as
- power stations and transmission lines
- transport, including airports, roads and railways
- water, including reservoirs
- waste, such as treatment plants
The Commission's decisions must be in accordance with national policy statements produced by the Government.
Where the relevant national policy statement is in place, the Infrastructure Planning Commission decides applications. Where it is not, the Commission makes recommendations to the Secretary of State.
CPRE believes that the new commission needs to be an environmental champion - to say no to major infrastructure schemes where they would cause unacceptable environmental damage or reduce our ability to meet our targets for tackling climate change. It needs to be an independent judge - free of influence by developer interests and prepared to question Government policy on infrastructure development where necessary.
The Commission also needs to be a defender of democracy - to ensure that communities and civic society groups can have a meaningful role at planning inquiries by questioning developers directly and having the resources to make a strong case.
And it needs to be an efficient decision-maker, so that its operations do not cost any more or greater delays in decision-making than previous arrangements for the planning of nationally significant infrastructure projects.
CPRE will engage constructively with the Commission to help achieve these aims.
The Infrastructure Planning Commission is one of the most significant and controversial changes to planning in over 60 years. It had reportedly already received more applications before establishment than it was expecting to receive in a year.
Both of the official Opposition parties are committed to abolishing the Commission in the event of a change of Government, and returning its decision-making powers to Ministers.
From the December 2009 issue of Fieldwork, CPRE's free membership newsletter.
Fiona Cowan
re-edited 2 March 2010