Record number of major infrastructure projects green-lit

Tens of thousands of people will benefit from cleaner energy, quicker commutes to work and more flights for holidays after the government fast tracked decisions on major infrastructure projects. 

The government has green-lit the largest number of major infrastructure projects in the first year of a Parliament in history, with 21 major infrastructure planning decisions made in the government’s first year.

Projects greenlighted include the Lower Thames Crossing, Mona Offshore Windfarm, Simister Island development in the Manchester area and the expansion to Gatwick airport.

Each one of these decisions means easier commutes for people in the mornings, better protection from fossil fuel price spikes, opening the door for cheaper holidays with more flights.

These decisions have secured a boom in thousands of good skilled clean energy jobs across the country in places such as Sussex, North Wales and Teesside.

Earlier this year the Prime Minister set the government a target of 150 planning decisions on major infrastructure projects as part of the Plan for Change.

Thanks to the pro-growth reforms in the Planning and Infrastructure Bill, including the removal of onerous statutory pre-application requirements and cutting back meritless legal challenges from three to one, the government remains on track to meet this target and make sure Britain is once again a destination for major investment and growth.

The Housing Secretary Steve Reed will visit the Lower Thames Crossing area (23 September) to see for himself how the project will improve journeys for millions of people each year.

Housing Secretary Steve Reed said

“We are backing our builders, brickies and businesses to get Britain building.

“We’ve already said yes to major projects that will create more well-paid jobs providing clean power and new roads.

“We will go further to streamline planning rules to speed up new homes, data centres and businesses that will put an affordable home and well-paid job within reach of people in every part of our country.”

Further reforms are building on this, with an update expected on the next generation of new towns, the Planning and Infrastructure Bill remaining on track to become law and unveiling new plans to build up and build out on brownfield sites faster.  

Today’s announcement follows the Housing Secretary’s commitment to ‘build, baby, build’ and remove every barrier to build 1.5 million homes this Parliament.  

This new record of 21 decisions eclipses the previous Parliament’s first-year record of 15 and marks a significant milestone for this government’s ambition to make 150 decisions. The previous government saw a total of 57 decisions during its full term between December 2019 to May 2024.

A further four decisions have been made by the government in its second year, bringing the current total to 25, with a further 10 projects currently on the table. This historic progress means Britain is building the roads, railways and energy connections needed to help towns and cities grow and local economies thrive.  

Key decisions include

• The Lower Thames Crossing, approved under this government, will drive growth by tackling congestion that costs the UK millions every year and create a strategic new trade route between the ports of the south-east, midlands and north. Construction will support 22,000 jobs across the area and once completed it is projected to provide £200 million a year from better connections and less congestion.
• The Mona Offshore Wind Farm located in the Irish Sea and the Rampion 2 Offshore Wind Farm located off the Sussex coast, which combined can produce enough clean electricity to power the equivalent of nearly 3 million homes. Together, these projects secure thousands of jobs and 2.7 GW of clean, secure, homegrown power for British families and businesses. This acceleration towards clean energy will create the jobs of the future across the UK.
• The Viking CSS Pipeline in Lincolnshire which could support 20,000 jobs and boost the decarbonising industry in the Humber, creating opportunities for local people.
• The M60/M62/M66 Simister Island development, three miles south of Bury, which will make commuting quicker for more than 90,000 people every day.
• Gatwick Airport’s application to expand its operations through routine use of its existing northern runway after the Transport Secretary issued a letter (21 September) confirming her approval following careful consideration.

Work is also ongoing at pace to make it easier to build digital infrastructure, such as laboratories and gigafactories by updating the National Planning Policy Framework and pressures facing local planning authorities will be eased through £46 million of investment to strengthen their capacity, alongside the recruitment and training of over 300 planners.

This builds on the £150 billion of inward investment which the UK secured from US companies during the US President’s state visit, creating more than 7,600 high-quality jobs and accelerating growth in sectors of the future.

Further information

21 decisions were signed off in the first year of government; so far four decisions have been made in the second year, bringing the total to 25, with more projects expected to be decided before the end of the year.  

List of approved major infrastructure projects so far include

• Gate Burton Energy Park
• Mallard Pass Solar Project
• Sunnica Energy Farm
• Cottam Solar Project
• Bramford to Twinstead
• Immingham Eastern Ro-Ro Terminal
• Rivenhall IVMF and Energy Centre
• Heckington Fen Solar Park
• West Burton Solar Project
• Immingham Green Energy Terminal
• North Lincolnshire Green Energy Park
• Lower Thames Crossing
• London Luton Airport Expansion
• Rampion 2 Offshore Wind Farm
• Cambridge Waste Water Treatment Plant
• Viking CCS Pipeline
• East Yorkshire Solar Farm
• M5 Junction 10 Improvement Scheme
• Oaklands Farm Solar Park
• Mona Offshore Windfarm
• Byers Gill Solar
• Morgan Offshore Wind Project
• M60/M62/M66 Simister Island
• London Gatwick Airport Expansion

The news is part of a year of activity to overhaul the planning system to speed up the delivery of much needed infrastructure and the homes we need, including

• Making it easier to build digital infrastructure, such as laboratories and gigafactories by updating the National Planning Policy Framework, alongside introducing targets to boost housebuilding in the areas most in need – the changes to the NPPF last December led the OBR to forecast the highest level of housebuilding in 40 years and an additional £6.8 billion of growth by 2029/30;
• Changing the rules to prevent major infrastructure projects being held up in the courts and help get Britain building following independent recommendations – data shows that in recent years 58% of all decisions on major infrastructure projects were taken to court, compared to the long-term average of 10%; 
• Removing statutory consultation requirements for major infrastructure – which could add £1 billion to the economy and speed up decisions by up to 12 months;
• Delivering the biggest boost to affordable housing in a generation with £39 billion announced at the Spending Review; and    
• Making £16 billion of new public investment to help build over 500,000 new homes through a National Housing Bank, unlocking over £53 billion of private investment.