New Legislation is now in force to ensure that infrastructure projects classed as being nationally significant, will be determined at national level, with applications made to the Welsh Ministers rather than local planning authorities.
Provisions set out within the Planning (Wales) Act 2015, and related legislation, establish a new process for the consent of developments of national significance. The process aims to ensure decisions are made in a timely manner, particularly in respect of renewable energy projects, as well as other nationally significant developments in Wales.
Natural Resources Minister Carl Sargeant commented: ''The DNS projects include energy projects with a generating capacity of between 10MW and 50MW, airports, railway infrastructure, dams and reservoirs, and other types of development requiring planning permission which are considered to be of national significance. I’m also planning to expand the thresholds to capture all onshore wind projects above 10MW. The DNS process forms a key part of my ‘Green Growth’ agenda. Larger scale renewable energy projects, which this process captures, are vital to delivering further reductions in carbon emissions and sustainable development objectives, thus boosting the Welsh economy. Inclusion of these projects within this process will improve the timeliness of decision-making, improve the quality of decision-making and create an environment of certainty for developers and communities.''
