Politics

WG consults on new planning process

Published

8 years ago

June 21, 2018

Connecting communities: WG proposes two stage approach

THE WELSH GOVERNMENT has published proposals to change the way major infrastructure projects are consented.

A new approach is needed because more consenting powers are due to be devolved on April 1, 2019. The Welsh Government is also taking the opportunity to combine a number of existing processes into a single streamlined “one-stop shop” consenting process.

Two stages are being proposed:

An interim solution requiring changes to existing processes; and
A long-term solution requiring primary legislation to establish an entirely new form of consent.

The proposals only apply to areas where consenting is devolved.

So for example, in future, projects like the proposed M4 relief road around Newport and the 200 Megawatt (MW) Swansea Bay tidal lagoon would need to be consented through the new process, whereas the 2,700MW Wylfa Newydd nuclear power station would not, because consenting for generating stations with a capacity of over 350MW would remain with the UK Government.

CURRENT SITUATION

Wales currently has three tiers of consenting processes for most infrastructure projects (there are some exceptions):
Smaller projects are decided by local planning authorities;

Larger projects, where consenting is devolved, are decided by the Welsh Government through the Developments of National Significance (DNS) process; and

Larger projects, where consenting is not devolved, are decided by the UK Government through the Nationally Significant Infrastructure Projects (NSIP) process.

Consents by local planning authorities and the Welsh Government are given under the Town and Country Planning Act 1990 (TCPA) – this is often known as planning permission.

NSIPs require a different kind of consent called a Development Consent Order (DCO), which is given under the Planning Act 2008. DCOs can include consents on a range of associated matters – these are often called secondary consents.

NEW POWERS

The Wales Act 2017 devolves further consenting powers which are due to come into force on 1 April 2019:

Energy generating stations with a capacity of up to and including 350MW onshore and in Welsh waters (which is an inshore area out to approximately 12 nautical miles from Welsh shores). This doesn’t include onshore wind which is already devolved with no upper limit; and
Overhead electric lines of up to and including 132 Kilovolts (KV) that are associated with a devolved energy generating project.

In addition, the Wales Act has already devolved consenting for Harbour Revision and Empowerment Orders, which are made under the Harbours Act 1964, for most Welsh ports. These new powers came into force on April 1.

WHY A NEW PROCESS IS NEEDED

The way in which the Wales Act devolves the new powers creates some anomalies which need to be resolved to ensure an efficient and effective approach to consenting.

The consenting powers for energy generating stations and overhead electric lines mentioned above are currently consented by the UK Government through the DCO process.

In devolving these powers, the Wales Act takes consenting for these projects out of the DCO process and places consenting for devolved generating stations in Welsh waters back into the former Electricity Act 1989 process. On land, the consenting of devolved generating stations and associated overhead electric lines is placed into the TCPA process, instead of the Electricity Act. The TCPA has previously not been used to consent this scale of generation project.

For a number of reasons set out in the consultation document, this is seen as a backward step.

In addition, the Welsh Government favours taking a more integrated and streamlined approach to infrastructure consenting. It wants to establish a one- stop shop approach for major devolved projects, similar to the UK Government’s DCO process. This, it argues, would provide more consistent and transparent decision-making, and more certainty for communities and developers alike.

The alternative would be to continue with a number of different processes each with their own requirements, established under separate legislation (including the TCPA, Electricity Act and Harbours Act mentioned above).

The one-stop shop approach also allows a number of secondary consents to be included in the main consent, rather than having to be applied for separately.

Some associated changes to the compulsory purchase process are also proposed.

INTERIM SOLUTION

The Welsh Government says an interim solution is necessary because there isn’t enough time to set up an entirely new process before April 1, 2019.

The interim solution involves amending secondary legislation to include the newly devolved onshore energy generating stations and electric lines within the existing DNS process.

Offshore energy generating stations will be consented under the Electricity Act, with a new fee structure based on full cost recovery. Harbour Revision and Empowerment Orders will continue to be made under the Harbours Act.

Offshore energy generating stations and Harbour Revision and Empowerment Orders can’t be brought into the DNS process because the TCPA, under which the DNS process was established, only extends to the low water mark.

The interim solution is due to come into force on April 1, 2019 and will remain in place until the new process is established. The consultation document suggests this will be after 2020.

LONG-TERM SOLUTION

The long-term solution is to establish a new one-stop shop consenting process that is bespoke to Wales.

The consent would be called Welsh Infrastructure Consent (WIC) and projects captured by it would be called Welsh Infrastructure Projects (WIPs). The Assembly would need to pass primary legislation to establish the new process.

The WIC would consolidate existing consents under the TCPA, Electricity Act, Harbours Act, and a number of other consents made under highways legislation, into one single type of consent. The WIC would also include a wide range of secondary consents, including Compulsory Purchase Orders, Marine Licences and Environmental Permits.

The consenting process would be accompanied by thresholds and policies against which the individual projects can be assessed. Key policies would include Planning Policy Wales, the National Development Framework and the Wales National Marine Plan. The fee structure would be based on full cost recovery.

The WIC process would be designed to be flexible to capture projects of varying types and sizes. It would take a “proportional approach”, enabling certain types of decisions to be made more quickly, and others, which are more complex, to receive greater scrutiny.

This includes introducing a category of optional WIPs that the developer could choose to submit either via the WIC process or to the local planning authority. In the case of offshore projects, where there is no local planning authority, the alternative route for optional WIPs would be via the marine licencing process.

The WIC process would also require developers to engage with local communities before submitting their applications and provide greater opportunity for the public to participate during the examination process. There would also be a specific role for local planning authorities in documenting impact in their areas.

However, the consultation does not address the transfer of regional infrastructure projects away from elected councils and into the hands of unelected so-called ‘City Deal’ boards or their rural counterpart in Mid Wales. The complication of creating a national structure without accounting for looming changes in the delivery of infrastructure services is – as it stands – both unresolved and a likely source of future confusion.

Community

Council to hear Pembrokeshire genocide pensions petition

Published

5 hours ago

January 23, 2026

Bruce Sinclair - Local Democracy Reporter

A CALL for Pembrokeshire County Council to join other west Wales authorities in calling for its pension funds to be divested from companies profiting from genocide is to be heard by full council.

Recently, a call for Ceredigion County Council to stress it does not wish to be involved in companies connected with Israel during the ongoing Gaza crisis through its pension fund was backed by councillors.

A notice of motion before Ceredigion County Council’s October meeting, proposed by Cllr Endaf Edwards, said: “The ongoing and deeply concerning conflict in Gaza has led to significant loss of innocent life and widespread humanitarian suffering.

“Despite a temporary ceasefire in January 2025, hostilities have resumed, and conditions on the ground continue to deteriorate.”

Its calls included: a commitment to ethical governance and global justice; to express it does not wish to be associated with companies potentially complicit in war crimes or human rights violations; to write to the Welsh Pension Partnership, conveying these concerns and requesting a review of current investments; to request that the Dyfed Pension Fund and Welsh Pension Partnership strengthen their ethical investment policies; and to call on the Dyfed Pension Fund Committee and Welsh Pension Partnership to regularly review and publicly report on progress toward divestment from unethical holdings.

Following that, a petition was submitted on Pembrokeshire County Council’s own website, making a similar call.

The Pembrokeshire petition, started by Sarah Davies of Solidarity with Palestine Pembrokeshire, read: “We call upon Pembrokeshire County Council to pass a resolution calling on Dyfed Pension Fund to divest our pension money from companies profiting from genocide.

“As residents of Pembrokeshire, we are deeply concerned that the Dyfed Pension Fund (DPF) invests millions of pension fund money in companies complicit in Israel’s genocide, occupation, and apartheid against Palestinians. In addition, DPF uses the multinational asset management firm BlackRock to manage 40 per cent (£1.4 billion) of its total assets. BlackRock has been cited in a recent UN report as profiting from genocide.

“Carmarthenshire, Ceredigion and other Welsh councils have already committed to divestment. We call upon Pembrokeshire County Council to use its influence to urge Dyfed Pension Fund to divest from these companies.”

The recently closed e-Petition attracted 560 signatures.

If a petition gets 500 signatures, the creator will have an opportunity to debate it at a future full council meeting.

Business

The Town Crier Pub, Tenby, expansion plans submitted

Published

6 hours ago

January 23, 2026

Bruce Sinclair - Local Democracy Reporter

PLANS to expand the facilities offered by a Pembrokeshire seaside town pub, which was once a toyshop, have been submitted to the national park.

In an application to Pembrokeshire Coast National Park, The Old Town Crier Pub Ltd, through agent Argent Architects, seeks permission for the installation of a retractable canopy to The Town Crier Pub, 3-4 Upper Frog Street, Tenby’s rear courtyard.

A supporting statement says the scheme for the pub, in Tenby town centre, with a rear boundary on the town’s Grade-I-listed 13th century town wall, “makes a positive contribution to the site, adding an elegant structure, which remains sensitive to the host building and the historic town wall”.

It adds: “The solution is practical and efficient and will enhance the enjoyment of the site.”

A heritage statement accompanying the application says the walls date to the 13th century, replacing earlier wood and earth fortifications, with “significant raising and thickening ordered by Jasper Tudor in 1457 and repairs in 1588 (due to the threat of the Spanish Armada),” visible in the masonry. Different building techniques and materials for different eras can be observed in the wall’s structure.

It says they “were initially built in the 13th century by the Earls of Pembroke, likely in response to the town being sacked by the Welsh prince Llywelyn ap Gruffydd in 1260”.

The application adds: “The proposals are limited to the private realm of the premises’ courtyard, and do not touch the town wall. The experience of the town wall from the public realm will remain unchanged. There is no perceived impact on the historic town wall arising from the proposals.”

The application will be considered by park planners at a later date.

The pub opened in July 2024 and since then, Tripadviser reviews have thanked the business for serving a range of drinks, being dog-friendly and having helpful staff.

The Upper Frog Street site of the Town Crier was formerly the Clarice Toys toy and novelty shop, and is called the Town Crier in tribute to the late John ‘Yobbler’ Thomas, a former proprietor of the shop and a former town crier of Tenby.

John Thomas served as Tenby’s town crier for more than 30 years, and was responsible for bringing four national crier contests to Tenby.

John and wife Caroline, who would become a councillor and serve as mayor in the town, set up Clarice Toys in Tenby’s Upper Frog Street after their marriage in 1961, with the business being later run by their son and daughter, Ian and Kerri.

Business

Adventure hub plans at Moylegrove, Pembrokeshire, withdrawn

Published

6 hours ago

January 23, 2026

Bruce Sinclair - Local Democracy Reporter

PLANS for an adventure tourism hub in north Pembrokeshire, ruled by a high court judge to have been granted unlawfully following a legal challenge, expected to be reheard this year, have now been withdrawn.

Back in 2024, Pembrokeshire Coast National Park’s development management committee approved an application by Adventure Beyond Ltd for an outdoor adventure centre, and associated works at The Old Bus Depot, Moylegrove.

The application had been before multiple meetings of Pembrokeshire Coast National Park’s development management committee; the plot originally used as a bus depot by the founder of the Richards Bros bus company.

Concerns were raised about the scheme, including by local community council Nevern, and opponents feared that increased business for adventure firms will worsen the plight of birds and animals including seals.

Following that approval, a high court challenge was brought by Wild Justice, who claimed the scheme would see nesting birds and breeding seals disturbed by ‘noisy’ coasteers.

But Jet Moore, of Adventure Beyond, insisted that the company had been ‘key’ in developing codes of conduct to ensure wildlife safety.

In September Hon Mr Justice Eyre ruled the National Park Authority’s decision was unlawful as a position statement and 2024 survey of breeding birds published by Natural Resources Wales had not been made available beforehand.

The judge also agreed that the management committee had not been properly informed about the impact of the development on the Aberath-Carreg Wylan SSSI, including the potential for coasteering activities to disturb the chough, for which the SSSI is designated.

On that basis planning permission was quashed and the application will need to be re-determined if the development is to go ahead.

Ceibwr Bay forms part of the Cardigan Bay Special Area of Conservation (SAC), the Pembrokeshire Marine SAC, the West Wales Marine SAC and a Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) and is home to nesting razorbill, guillemot, fulmar, herring gull, chough and kestrel.

Nearby sea caves are recognised pupping areas for grey seals and otters frequent the bay.

Wild Justice argued that an adventure centre would increase recreational activity, such as coasteering and kayaking.

Giving his reaction, Mr Moore claimed objectors had ‘caused more disturbance [to nesting birds] than we ever have’.

At the October meeting of the national park’s development management committee, members heard resubmitted plans were expected.

The national park has now confirmed the resubmitted application has now been withdrawn by the applicant.

“As a result of this withdrawal, the Authority will take no further action on the application, and it will not proceed to determination. The case file will be updated accordingly, and the application will not be considered by the Development Management Committee.

“The applicant has indicated that they may choose to submit a new or alternative application for the site in the future, which would incorporate the existing building.

“Any such submission would be treated as a separate application and would be processed in the normal way. If a new application is received, relevant parties will be notified and given the opportunity to comment.”