Catherine Howard, a planning lawyer by profession, will advise Rachel Reeves on the next phase of planning and infrastructure reforms
Howard said tha, as the new planning and infrastructure adviser, she will use her expertise to “do what it takes to get Britain building.”
She will work alongside both chancellor Rachel Reeves and the new housing secretary, Steve Reed, after Angela Rayner’s resignation.
The industry is bracing as the Autumn Budget looms
The appointment comes a month before the Autumn Budget, which Reeves says will do more to improve the economy for working people and reduce inflation.
The Planning and Infrastructure Bill is also currently going through Parliament, which aims to improve funding and remove several barriers preventing infrastructure from being approved.
Catherine Howard will act as the new planning and infrastructure adviser, bringing expertise and specialisations in major infrastructure projects from her time working at Herbert Smith Freehills Kramer LLP as a partner.
Catherine will begin her work up to four days per week unpaid until the Autumn Budget.
Catherine Howard said: “It is a privilege to take on this position as the Chancellor’s Infrastructure and Planning Adviser, helping the government to achieve a step-change in how we deliver major infrastructure and housing.
“With the right framework in place, good decision-making can enable swift progress – improving our natural environment and supporting the government’s Growth Mission. The Planning and Infrastructure Bill makes major strides towards this goal. I look forward to working with stakeholders to consider how we build on this important agenda.”
Chancellor of the exchequer, Rachel Reeves, said: “I am determined we do what it takes to get Britain building, unlock private investment and deliver an economy that works for working people – and rewards working people.
“I look forward to working with Catherine to deliver this.”
Planning and Infrastructure Bill promises “seismic reforms”
The reforms in the bill were made clear in March, promising to speed up decisions through:
- Planning committees– Establishing a new national scheme of delegation to see which planning applications should be determined by officers and which should go to committee. The size of planning committees will be limited and training will be mandatory for members. Councils will be able to set their own planning fees to cover costs.
- Strategic planning– “Spatial development strategies” will be produced to cover multiple local planning authorities, identifying the most sustainable areas to build, which will ensure “a clear join-up between development needs and infrastructure requirements”
- National Significant Infrastructure Projects (NSIP)– A new NSIP structure will streamline consultation requirements for major infrastructure projects to enable faster delivery of windfarms, roads and railway lines. Legal challenges will be reduced from three attempts to one for “meritless” cases and changes to the Highways Act and the Transport and Works Act will reduce bureaucracy
- Development corporations– will be strengthened with new enhanced powers to deliver a generation of New Towns
- Compulsory purchase reform– this process will be streamlined and geared towards the public interest, ensuring compensation paid to landowners is not excessive
Infrastructure reforms will include:
- Streamlining the process to install EV charging infrastructure
- Prioritising clean energy projects for grid connections
- Electricity bill discounts for people living within 500m of new pylons
- Forestry authorities in England and Wales will be able to bring forward developments to generate and sell renewable energy on their land
- The number of required exemptions for offshore wind farms will be reduced
- A new scheme to “unlock billions” of investment in renewable power storage and long duration electricity storage (LDES)
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