The UK Government has confirmed plans to allow data center developments to “opt in” to the Nationally Significant Infrastructure Projects (NSIP) regime, following longstanding calls from techUK, a technology trade association, and industry leaders.
Last month, Minister of State for Housing and Planning, Matthew Pennycook MP laid before Parliament a draft amendment to the Infrastructure Planning (Business or Commercial Projects) Regulations 2013. The measure would formally recognise data centers as eligible for consideration under Section 35 of the Planning Act 2008, enabling developers to request that qualifying projects be directed into the NSIP consenting process.
The new system will operate on an opt-in basis, so developers may apply for NSIP status where projects are deemed nationally significant and meet statutory criteria. Decisions will rest with the Secretary of State, with applications examined by the Planning Inspectorate and determined through a single Development Consent Order (DCO), replacing multiple local-level consents.
TechUK advocated for this initiative, saying, “Inclusion of data centres in the NSIP regime will support their timely construction, enabling the delivery of infrastructure that underpins a vast range of technologies and essential functions of modern life, from advanced AI workloads to everyday business IT systems like CRM platforms.”
A statement by Baroness Taylor of Stevenage, Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Housing and Local Government, says, “The government is committed to ensuring that the planning system effectively facilitates development to meet the needs of a modern economy, including supporting essential digital infrastructure such as data centers.”
The Department for Science, Innovation and Technology will prepare a dedicated National Policy Statement (NPS) for data centers to support the change. The NPS will outline the strategic need for such facilities and set thresholds and parameters to guide eligibility and decision-making under the NSIP regime.
Meanwhile, Pennycook confirmed that developers of large laboratories and gigafactories can already request NSIP designation under existing industrial and R&D categories within the 2013 Regulations.
The draft amendment is subject to the affirmative parliamentary procedure, with ministers aiming for it to come into force later this year or early next. It accompanies broader changes in the forthcoming Infrastructure and Planning Bill, which will streamline consultation requirements and reduce the number of possible legal challenges, in an effort to accelerate delivery of major national infrastructure.