Planning: decoding the Bill with Robbie Owen

Mar 17, 2025

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In today’s podcast we return to the vitally important, hugely complicated and normally highly emotive subject of planning reform.

And help is (potentially) at hand in the form of the long awaited Planning and Infrastructure Bill which was published last week and heralded by government as providing “transformative reforms to get Britain building, tackle blockers and unleash billions in economic growth”.

So who better to bring back to the Infrastructure Podcast to explain and chew over this potential new dawn of planning than Robbie Owen, infrastructure planning guru and Partner at law firm Pinsent Masons.

The UK’s planning system has long been a battleground between the need for economic growth and the challenges of bureaucracy, local opposition, and environmental concerns. As the government pushes forward with ambitious targets—building 1.5 million homes, upgrading transport networks, and accelerating clean energy projects—the speed at which infrastructure is planned and delivered has never been more critical.

Yet, delays remain a persistent problem. As we know, major projects can take years to navigate the approvals process, with judicial reviews and lengthy consultations slowing progress.

The proposed legislation includes changes to infrastructure planning, environmental impact assessments, and compulsory purchase powers … and, as discussed on the podcast before Christmas, limits on the role of Judicial Reviews.

But will these changes truly unlock growth, or are deeper structural issues being overlooked? And how can the planning system ensure that infrastructure projects not only proceed faster but also deliver better outcomes for communities and the environment?

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