Planning Commission Open for Business
The Infrastructure Planning Commission (IPC) is now open for business – advising developers of new large infrastructure projects which are vital to the country’s future, for example, power stations, transmission lines, gas storage schemes and reservoirs.
The newly formed organisation will be in a position to deal with major planning applications for energy projects from March 2010, however, although welcomed by business leaders, critics are claiming that the IPC risks posing a threat to the environment and communities by subjecting projects to less rigorous testing, whereby the Conservative party has pledged to scrap the scheme if they get elected.
The IPC has been developed to replace eight former planning systems by using one single process thus reducing the time it takes to make decisions from up to seven years to less than a year – the current government has calculated that the new regime has the potential to save the country up to £300 million annually.
Planning minister, John Healey commented that improvements to the UK’s infrastructure now as well as in the future are critical to maintaining and improving our quality of life, as well as protecting our prosperity and safeguarding the environment within an increasingly competitive global economy.
Source;
Utilityweek.co.uk/ News/ Pan Utility (New planning commission opens for business today)