Countryside Alliance briefing note: Planning and Infrastructure Bill

According to the government the Bill “is central to the government’s plan to get Britain building 
again and deliver economic growth. The Bill will speed up and streamline the delivery of new 
homes and critical infrastructure, supporting delivery of the government’s Plan for Change 
milestones of building 1.5 million safe and decent homes in England and fast-tracking 150 
planning decisions on major economic infrastructure projects by the end of this Parliament. It 
will also support the delivery of the government’s Clean Power 2030 target by ensuring that 
key clean energy projects are built as quickly as possible.”

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The Alliance welcomes these objectives but is concerned that some of the proposals in the 
Bill will negatively impact on rural communities, reduce local democratic accountability and do 
not ensure that rural communities benefit from development to the same extent as urban ones. 

There are elements of the Bill where rural areas seem expected to shoulder the negative 
impacts of development without any guarantee of enjoying the full benefits. Moreover, those 
who own land are expected to accept their assets being taken below market value so the 
government can deliver on its objectives. The Bill lacks a balance between public and private 
interest and partly fails to recognise the impact on rural people.

The Bill must be understood in the context of the National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF) 
on which the government consulted last year. In delivering infrastructure, delivering housing 
and meeting environmental targets it is rural communities who will often be most impacted. 
These communities are key to delivery but they must be consulted in planning and 
infrastructure decisions and share equally in the benefits. For example, in rolling out the EV 
charging network and upgrading the grid infrastructure rural areas should not come second to 
urban ones. The experience of the rollout of digital connectivity has illustrated that delivery in 
urban areas is often easier and as such rural areas are treated as secondary and delivery 
takes longer and is less well-funded. This must not happen again. 

The Alliance has restricted its comments to those areas of the Bill that are of particular interest 
or concern and to highlight some of those issues which must be addressed as the Bill 
progresses and in its implementation.