Planning news – 28 September 2023

Our planning news is published in association with The Planner, the official magazine of the Royal Town Planning Institute.

New biodiversity laws set to secure big rise in natural habitat
More than 15,000 hectares of natural habitats will be created in England each year following the introduction of biodiversity net gain (BNG) regulations, according to analysis.
Huw Morris, The Planner

Sunak pledges a spatial plan for energy infrastructure
Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has announced that the government ‘will shortly bring forward comprehensive new reforms to energy infrastructure’.
Laura Edgar, The Planner

Major Cardiff housing redevelopment makes progress
Cardiff City Council has reached a significant milestone in its scheme to regenerate its Channel View estate in Grangetown in the southern part of the capital.
Roger Milne, The Planner

NSIP reforms must be more than procedural, says RTPI
Many of the reforms proposed by the government to the Nationally Significant Infrastructure Projects (NSIP) process in England have been welcomed by the RTPI, but the institute has called on ministers to go beyond procedural reforms to ‘ensure that infrastructure can deliver a net-zero future whilst driving economic growth’.
Laura Edgar, The Planner

UNESCO urges major changes to Stonehenge tunnel plan
The UN’s cultural body has repeated its warning this week that Stonehenge risks losing its World Heritage Site status over plans for a tunnel near the prehistoric monument.
Huw Morris, The Planner

News round-up
– Government announces £12.3m community fund
– Durham solar farm plans approved
– Life of Norfolk wind farm to be extended
– Cherwell consults on local plan
– Cambridge homeless scheme gets go ahead
– And more stories…
Laura Edgar and Prithvi Pandya, The Planner