The official public consultation for the Bedford to Cambridge stretch of East West Rail (EWR) has been paused while the government’s Planning and Infrastructure Bill moves through Parliament.
EWR is a new rail route connecting Oxford and Cambridge, and trains have already done test runs on its first part, from Oxford to Milton Keynes, with services expected to start this year.
Work on extending the line further to Bedford (CS2) and then onward to Cambridge (CS3) hasn’t fully started yet because they still need development consent orders (DCOs) before they can go ahead.
To get a DCO for Nationally Significant Infrastructure Projects (NSIPs), there’s a legal requirement for a statutory consultation during the pre-application phase. But since the government’s Planning and Infrastructure Bill is being debated in Parliament, some of the usual rules around DCOs and NSIP planning are being removed. So, EWR has put its consenting process for CS3 on hold while waiting for those changes.
The government calls this Bill a “historic opportunity” to fix problems in the UK’s planning system. It was officially introduced on 11 March, with promises that it will help speed up building new homes and key infrastructure, as well as improve energy security.
In April, housing and planning minister Matthew Pennycook explained what changes are planned during a speech in Parliament.
“Unique to planning consent regimes, the NSIP system established by the Planning Act 2008 includes statutory requirements for applicants to undertake consultation before submitting an application,” he said. “These statutory pre-application procedures were created for a regime that originally saw decisions taken by commissioners rather than ministers.
“Subsequent to that democratic deficit being addressed through the Localism Act 2011, they were retained on the basis that they helped improve applications prior to submission.”
Pennycook also talked about how there’s strong evidence showing these statutory consultations can lead to unintended problems.
“Rather than providing a means by which engagement drives better outcomes, statutory pre-application procedures have become a tick-box exercise that encourages risk aversion and gold-plating,” he said.
“The result is consultation fatigue and confusion for communities; longer, more technical and less accessible documentation; and an arrangement that actively disincentivises improvements to applications – even if these are in a local communities’ interest – because applicants worry this will require a further repeat consultation.”
The government concluded from this that these mandatory consultations often slow projects down instead of helping them move faster or get better.
Pennycook told Parliament: “I am, therefore, announcing that the government will amend the Planning and Infrastructure Bill to remove the statutory requirement to consult as part of the pre-application stage for NSIP applications, bringing requirements in line with all other planning regimes.
“This will include removing the requirement for developers to prepare and consult on preliminary environmental information, which currently often leads to applicants duplicating content already required through existing environmental regulation.”
Since these new rules should soon be introduced, East West Railway Company (EWR Co.), which is responsible for delivering EWR, has stopped its planned statutory consultation. This consultation was first set for early 2024 but then pushed back until 2026.
An EWR Co. spokesperson said: “As the Planning and Infrastructure Bill is currently passing through Parliament, our plan for a statutory consultation is no longer being progressed whilst we review our approach.”
“We are currently working closely with government to understand the implications of the Bill and how proposed changes to legislation may affect the delivery of infrastructure projects like East West Rail.”
“The Planning and Infrastructure Bill, if passed, could enable earlier benefits to be delivered to communities and also allow a more tailored approach to engagement with local communities and stakeholders.”
“Once we have this clarity on the Planning and Infrastructure Bill, we will aim to deliver a programme of engagement in early 2026 and we will provide updates about this process as soon as we are able to do so.”
The Bill has already had two readings in The House of Lords. It’s now at Report Stage before having its final reading there soon. Afterward it returns back over into The House of Commons where it will get Royal Assent before becoming law.
The costs and timelines related to CS2 and CS3 for EWR are currently under review due “to changes in scheme priorities leading to slower progress than initially expected”.
The Department for Transport (Df T) was asked for comment but did not respond at time of writing.
This month earlier there was also news about plans aimed at speeding up court challenges against major infrastructure schemes – potentially cutting judicial reviews by six months specifically concerning nationally significant projects. These measures would also form part of this same Planning & Infrastructure Bill.
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