Government to make data centres capable of being directed into NSIP regime

The Minister for Housing and Planning, Matthew Pennycook, announced the draft regulations in a written ministerial statement last week, which also revealed that the Government plans on preparing a new National Policy Statement for data centres to support the change.

Such a move would mean that planning applications for data centres could be decided by the Government rather than the local planning authority.

The commitment builds on the Government's pledge in December last year to enable certain large-scale projects within knowledge, creative, high technology, and data-driven industries to be directed into the Nationally Significant Infrastructure Projects (NSIP) consenting regime process.

Announcing the regulations, which are set to come into effect "later this year or early next", Pennycook said: "This draft statutory instrument amends the 2013 Regulations to provide that data centres are prescribed projects capable of being directed into the NSIP consenting regime under section 35 of the 2008 Act."

The draft is titled the Infrastructure Planning (Business or Commercial Projects) (Amendment) Regulations.

According to Pennycook, the change will then enable developers of certain proposed data centres, on request, to 'opt in' to the NSIP consenting process, provided the Secretary of State thinks that the project or proposed project is one of national significance and the development meets the other requirements set out in section 35 of the Act.

The Department for Science, Innovation and Technology is also set to prepare a new National Policy Statement for data centres to support the change.

This statement will set out the national policy for this sector and the policy framework for decision-making for data centres, according to Pennycook.

It will also include the parameters, thresholds and other relevant factors which may indicate whether such a development is of national significance and capable of meeting the requirements of section 35 of the 2008 Act in order to be directed to proceed through the NSIP consenting regime, he added.

He also confirmed that applicants wishing to request that projects to develop large laboratories or gigafactories be directed into the NSIP consenting regime process, may now make a request to the Secretary of State under section 35 of the Planning Act 2008 under the existing 'industrial process or processes' and 'research and development of products or processes' descriptors prescribed in the Infrastructure Planning (Business or Commercial Projects) Regulations 2013.

Adam Carey