Chief Planner’s planning update newsletter for July 2025 published
The Chief Planner, Joanna Averley, has published a planning update newsletter for July 2025, written for the chief planning officers at local planning authorities (LPAs). The newsletter contains details of the Planning and Infrastructure Bill’s progression to the House of Lords, following its second reading in the House of Commons on 25 June 2025. Key amendments made during the Commons stages include: (1) removing the statutory requirement for pre-application consultation on nationally significant infrastructure projects; (2) measures to reform grid connection queues; and (3) targeted improvements to the proposed Nature Restoration Fund, among other changes. The update also announces the launch of the Department for Transport and the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government Connectivity Tool on 26 June 2025, a new digital resource for measuring transport connectivity across England and Wales. It also highlights the launch of ‘Extract’, an artificial intelligence tool designed to assist with digitising planning documents, and references the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs’ publication of new National Standards for Sustainable Drainage Systems. Finally, the newsletter notes that simplified procedures for planning appeals determined through written representations will begin rolling out from the end of 2025.