Photo source: Thames Water Abbey Mills discharge
Consultation has started on the National Policy Statements (NPS) for wastewater. This document sets out the criteria with which the Infrastructure Planning Commission and its successor the Major Infrastructure Planning Unit (MIPU) will use to judge whether major wastewater projects should be approved. As this blog predicted the NPS specifically covers the Thames Tideway Tunnel and Deepham Sewage Treatment Works.
The last Government brought in a totally new ‘fast track’ planning process for major infrastructure projects (2008 Planning Act), and the National Policy Statements are an important element of this process. The Government has made clear that they envisage a seemless transition from the IPC to the MIPU and that the NPS will still apply.
The consultation process announced by DEFRA is an important opportunity to comment on whether the NPS are fit for purpose and provide an adequate framework for the IPC to judge whether major wastewater projects should be approved. The concern has to be that interested groups will not appreciate how important these documents are and that once agreed then the rules are effectively set in stone and can’t easily be altered.
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