Day 1 (26th February): Policy update and practical guidance on developing your application
08:45 to
18:30
Registration and refreshments
08:45 to
09:30
Chair’s welcome and opening remarks
09:30 to
09:40
Speaker:
Tom Carpen.
Chair; Consents Strategy Lead.
NIPA Board; Thames Water.
Part 1: Latest policy updates and plans to speed up planning for nationally significant infrastructure projects
09:40 to
14:05
The future of major infrastructure planning: the latest policy updates impacting NSIPs and support for infrastructure development
09:40 to
10:10
- Plans for reforms to the NSIP process
- Changes to thresholds for projects
- Timelines and next steps
- What does the Planning and Infrastructure Bill mean for NSIPs?
- Developing a spatial plan for Infrastructure
Speaker:
Alicia Ford.
Deputy Director, Infrastructure Planning.
Ministry of Housing, Communities & Local Government.
NSIPs planning in 2025: Planning Inspectorate perspective
10:10 to
10:40
- Current status of applications and expectation for 2025
- Latest advice and guidance for applicants
- Impact of new track approach – how is this working and lessons learnt?
Speaker:
David Price.
Head of Infrastructure Service.
Planning Inspectorate.
Morning networking and refreshments
10:40 to
11:10
Panel discussion: The future of NSIP planning – what is needed to provide greater certainty for projects and reduced timelines?
11:10 to
11:50
- What support is needed from the Government to support quicker decision making? What policy changes are needed?
- Plans to speed up the NSIPs process – what is the impact of this and how can it be achieved? Is speeding up the process the right aim?
- What are the current challenges to NSIPs planning and how can they be achieved
- Increasing certainty and learning from delays in NSIPs decision making
- Does the current regime support the types of future infrastructure
- Understanding the resourcing challenges facing all areas – is the current pipeline of projects deliverable?
Speakers:
Colin Turnbull.
Director.
DWD.
Frances Fernandes.
Managing Director.
Infrastructure Matters.
Chris Taylor.
Head of Planning and Consents.
Progressive Energy.
Case study: Lessons learnt from early adopters
11:50 to
12:15
- How were key project issues identified?
- The impact of pre-application on examination
Speaker:
Michael Baker.
Development Project Manager.
RWE Renewables Europe & Australia.
National Policy Statements – how have NPS been updated?
12:15 to
12:40
- Recent and expected changes to national policy statements
- Regular review of NPS – timelines for updating NPS
- What else needed to support case making?
Speaker:
Alex Minhinick.
Partner.
Burges Salmon.
Networking Lunch
12:40 to
13:40
Coordinating and developing applications – the role of project management throughout the process
13:40 to
14:05
- Co-ordinating all aspects of project development
- Timelines – what is needed and when?
- People and NSIP planning – what does the intensity of timelines mean for teams?
- Managing the peaks and troughs of the application process
Speaker:
Clare Heeley.
Associate Director – Infrastructure Planning.
AECOM.
Part 2: Conducting environmental assessments and delivering biodiversity net gain
14:05 to
15:05
Environment assessments – what is needed and how to ensure proportionality?
14:05 to
14:30
- Environmental policy update
- Implication of Finch vs Surrey – what does this mean for future scoping?
- EOR – where are we?
- Building mitigation measures into your project
- Delivering proportionality – what is needed to support this?
Speaker:
Dr Rufus Howard.
Impact Assessment and Sustainable Finance Policy Lead.
IEMA.
Practically delivering biodiversity net gain in your application – what are the most effective methods?
14:30 to
14:55
- How can biodiversity net gain be included in your application?
- Lessons from recent projects
- Defining mitigation vs enhancement
- Is a different approach needed to apply biodiversity net gain to major infrastructure compared to TCPA projects?
Speaker:
Nick Clark.
Lower Thames Crossing Ecology Lead.
National Highways.
Part 3: Conducing community engagement and improving project collaboration
14:55 to
17:00
Successfully conducting consultation and engagement: understanding the values of communities throughout engagement
14:55 to
15:20
- Conducting engagement and understanding the perception of infrastructure development in areas with a large number of projects
- Understanding how projects can be received by communities
- Prioritising community values
Speakers:
Douglas Johnson.
Director, Advocacy.
SEC Newgate.
Leyla Hart-Svensson.
Head of Research.
SEC Newgate.
Afternoon networking and refreshments
15:20 to
15:50
Local authority role in nationally significant infrastructure project applications
15:50 to
16:15
- Time and resources needed to engage with an application
- How best to engage with authorities and at what stage
- The value of local area knowledge
Speaker:
Justine Foster.
Infrastructure Manager.
Lincolnshire County Council.
Panel discussion: Increasing collaboration between projects located in clusters or near each other – a move towards a more joined up approach
16:15 to
17:00
- Benefits of an increased cohesive approach between projects – for developers but also communities and statutory consultees
- Understanding project interactions and cumulative effect – how to demonstrate these have been considered?
- Joining up approaches for engagement, grid connections and ecology
- The importance of a spatial plan for projects
- Data sharing – who should lead this?
- Avoiding potential confusion caused by a collaborative approach
Speakers:
Beth Motley.
Director – Energy and Utilities.
Counter Context.
Grant Douglas.
Head of Planning and Environment Policy.
ScottishPower Renewables.
Dave Elvin.
Chief Development Officer.
Island Green Power.
Alister Kratt.
Director.
LDA Design.
Chair’s closing remarks
17:00 to
17:10
Close of day 1 and networking drinks (sponsored by Burges Salmon)
17:10 to
18:30