Waste Water Infrastructure
Waste Water National Policy Statement
The Waste Water National Policy Statement (NPS), setting out Government policy for the provision of major waste water infrastructure of national significance, has been approved by Parliament and designated by the Secretary of State.
A Post Adoption Statement has been produced which sets out how the environmental considerations and consultation responses have been taken account of, the reasons for choosing the plan in the light of reasonable alternatives, and how significant environmental effects will be monitored.
- National Policy Statement for Waste Water – A framework document for planning decisions on nationally significant waste water infrastructure
- Waste Water National Policy Statement – Appraisal of Sustainability Post-Adoption Statement
- Written Ministerial Statement (PDF)
The Waste Water NPS will be used by the Infrastructure Planning Commission (IPC), or from April 2012 the Planning Inspectorate, and the Secretaries of State for Defra and CLG, as the primary basis for deciding development consent applications for waste water infrastructure of national significance. ‘Nationally Significant Infrastructure Projects’ (NSIPs), are defined in Part 3 of the Planning Act 2008.
The Waste Water NPS sets out the drivers for demand for waste water infrastructure projects, along with the alternatives considered. Every five years, the Government’s environmental and economic regulators of the water industry (the Environment Agency (EA) and Ofwat), work with the water and sewerage companies in England and Wales to establish spending plans for the following five-year period. The EA will assess statutory environmental requirements by setting out for example which discharges from the sewerage system need to be improved. The EA will then propose projects for inclusion on the National Environment Programme. The Government believes that the need for waste water projects has been demonstrated if the projects are included in the National Environment Programme.
An objective of the Planning Act is to clarify the policy framework for NSIPs and it makes provision for location-specific projects to be included in a National Policy Statement. The inclusion of the proposed Deephams Sewage Treatment Works in North East London and the proposed Thames Tunnel follows the principles of the Planning Act, thereby providing a degree of certainty to developers as to what waste water infrastructure of national significance is required in the future.
An impact assessment, which demonstrates that the benefits of the NPS outweigh the costs, has been finalised taking account of comments received as part of the consultation process and Parliamentary scrutiny.
- Impact assessment (PDF)
Public consultation
The Waste Water National Policy Statement was subject to a 14 week formal consultation, from 16 November 2010 to 22 February 2011, and Parliamentary scrutiny as required by the Planning Act 2008. The consultation documents and Government response to the consultation are available below:
The Waste Water NPS is supported by an Appraisal of Sustainability Report, Habitats Regulations Assessment Report and other associated appraisals.
Parliamentary scrutiny
In addition to the formal public consultation, the National Policy Statement has been subject to Parliamentary scrutiny by the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (EFRA) Committee, in line with requirements in the Planning Act:
Section 14 Order
The Planning Act 2008 provides a streamlined planning system for the construction of Nationally Significant Infrastructure Projects (NSIPs) in England and Wales. Section 14 of the Act lists the type of infrastructure project that can be an NSIP. Sections 15 to 30 set out the criteria in relation to each type of infrastructure project for determining whether an individual project is an NSIP. At present, NSIPs include infrastructure projects in the fields of energy, transport, water, and waste.
The streamlined NSIP planning process avoids unnecessary and potentially expensive delays in the time taken to reach decisions on planning applications. Such delays have often been a problem in the past for large and complex infrastructure projects, especially those requiring the approval of several local planning authorities.
From April 2012 projects classed as NSIPs undergo an application to the Planning Inspectorate (PINS) for a Development Consent Order. Construction can proceed if an application is successful.
The Planning Act 2008 does not currently include major sewer projects such as the proposed Thames Tunnel as NSIPs. The Government is therefore proposing secondary legislation known as a “Section 14 Order” to amend Section 14 of the Planning Act 2008 to classify proposed major new sewers as NSIPs.
A public consultation on a draft Order was held in summer 2011 and the Government published a summary of responses on 30 January 2012. Ministers laid the final draft Section 14 order before Parliament on 26 March: subject to Parliamentary approval, an Order could be anticipated as coming into effect in late spring 2012.
Once the Section 14 Order comes into effect, the proposed Thames Tunnel development would be classed as an NSIP. As the project sponsor, Thames Water would then be able to make a single planning application to PINS, rather than make separate applications to 14 individual London Boroughs that would otherwise be required under the Town and Country Planning Act 1990.
Ministers will make the final decision on issuing Development Consent Orders for waste water NSIPs. This is expected to be made jointly by the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government and the Secretary of State for Environment, Food, and Rural Affairs. This decision will take account of the recommendations submitted by PINS.
Contacts
For further information and enquiries, you can email the Thames Tunnel Team at: thamestunnelteam@defra.gsi.gov.uk