Government announces call for evidence on ‘brownfield passport’ proposals

The government has announced ‘brownfield passports’ to expedite development in urban areas.  

The ‘passport’ seeks to underline the government’s desire that if plans meet design and quality standards, the default answer to permission should be ‘yes’.  

In a news article published on the government website on 22nd September, it was announced that a call for evidence will shortly be opened to gather insights and opinions on additional provisions to strengthen brownfield approval. Here’s a snippet from the article: 

‘These will include bold proposals that provide far greater clarity as to the principle, scale, and form of brownfield development with a view to lowering the risk, cost and uncertainty associated with securing planning permissions.  

More information is likely to follow shortly. You can find out more on the government’s website. ¹

If you are a local authority or other body looking to assess your land supply in light of the closing consultation and impending updates to the National Planning Policy Framework, TerraQuest can help. Visit our website to find out more² about our extensive range of land finding and assessing services. 

Permission sought for data centre in Hertsmere 

Permission has been submitted by DC10UK for a new data centre project in Hertsmere– with the facility being ‘one of the largest’ data centre projects in Europe. 

According to The Planner, the construction value of the project has been estimated at £3.75 billion³ – and it’s promised that it will ‘closely align’ with the council’s net-zero strategy. 

A spokesperson has said the project will be ‘the UK’s premier data centre, providing critical infrastructure for the UK’s future, generating approximately £3.75 billion for the UK economy during the construction phase, and delivering huge economic benefits to the UK and brilliant opportunities for local people'. 

This comes alongside a recent statement from Google⁴ suggesting that the UK risks being ‘left behind’ in the Artificial Intelligence race if data centre provisions are not quickly improved nationally – referencing research showing the UK ranks 7^th in an assessment the most of AI-ready nations. 

One key revision to the NPPF which constituted part of the consultation which closed on Tuesday, proposed that data centres be reclassified as nationally significant infrastructure, meaning they would not be subject to normal planning permissions and would be decided at national level and ultimately streamlined via this process. 

An article published in the Guardian on 15 September⁵ also revealed that emissions associated with these data centre projects are high – in some cases higher than they have been reported officially. 

New government body the National Infrastructure Service Transformation Authority to merge two existing bodies

The chief secretary to the Treasury, Darren Jones, announced that the National Infrastructure Commission (NIC) and the Infrastructure Projects Authority (IPA) will be merged into a single authority. 

The announcement comes after high profile infrastructure developments such as HS2, Sizewell C and the expansion of Gatwick airport have been front-page news. 

A new government body, the National Infrastructure Service Transformation Authority (NISTA) aims to resolve issues around authority and leadership, which may have been present because of the two previous bodies positions. 

NISTA aims to improve the delivery speed of infrastructure projects through providing clarity and stability to the process, aiming to remove unnecessary compliance hoops. 

Alongside the announcement of NISTA, government is set to introduce a 10-year infrastructure programme, setting out a strategy for the future and providing an understanding of what each government department can spend in the upcoming 5 years.  

1. https://www.gov.uk/government/news/new-brownfield-passports-to-seize-the-growth-opportunities-of-urban-areas
2. https://www.terraquest.co.uk/products-services/land-finding-services
3. https://www.theplanner.co.uk/2024/09/19/permission-sought-data-centre-hertfordshire
4. https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2024/sep/19/google-says-uk-risks-being-left-behind-in-ai-race-without-more-data-centres
5. https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2024/sep/15/data-center-gas-emissions-tech