20 November, 2024

Our Head of Corporate Affairs, Craig Lawton shares his thoughts on the announcement:

Last week the new Welsh Government Minister for Economy, Energy and Planning- Rebecca Evans- announced a number of actions to speed up infrastructure planning decisions. 

These are: 

• Allowing PEDW to take decisions on renewable energy projects up to 50MW 

• Addressing planning officer shortages within local authority and Welsh Government 

• Enhancing Government planning resource  

Delegation to PEDW 

“Delegating decisions to PEDW on projects up to 50MW appears to be a short-term response in order to de-clog the system, and suggests the new Minister appreciates that delays are slowing down Wales’ drive towards renewable energy. 

“However, with a new planning regime coming in to place in Wales next year, this is only a short-term fix.  

“It could be argued that taking decisions out of Ministers’ hands somewhat de-politicises decisions for local communities. However, this leads to the additional questions of what if any appeal process would look like and whether Ministers would in fact still end up having the final say.”

Local authority and Welsh Government resourcing 

“Resourcing is by far one of the biggest concerns – and asks – raised by both planners and developers on a regular basis. 

“Whilst this announcement will therefore be welcomed by the renewable energy industry, questions remain, in particular: 

• Where the funding for more resourcing comes from? 

• How additional staff will be recruited, and from where? 

“What we can say for certain however is that the new First Minister and her Cabinet have hit the ground running since taking up office just over 100 days ago, with five decisions on major new renewable energy projects approved the Economy, Energy and Planning Minister since September this year.”