Nationally Significant Infrastructure Projects

Nationally Significant Infrastructure Projects (NSIPs) are large scale developments (relating to energy, transport, water, or waste) which require a type of consent known as “development consent”. The Planning Act 2008 introduced a new development consent process for NSIPs which was subsequently amended by the Localism Act 2011. A Development Consent Order (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. An extension of the regime in 2013 now allows certain business and commercial projects to opt into this process .