As part of our ongoing support and work with local authorities for NSIPs, the PAS Team have produced this breakdown of what NPSs are and how they shape decisions on major infrastructure within England. Whether you're new to the planning system or looking to understand how large projects are assessed, this page provides a simple introduction to what NPS are, why they matter, and how they are used.
Introduction
National Policy Statements (NPS) set out the government’s priorities for nationally significant infrastructure (NSIPs) and play a central role in shaping how planning decisions are made under the Planning Act 2008. They explain how development supports sustainable growth, takes account of climate change, and balances factors like demand, safety, and environmental impacts. NPS exist to set out the need for major infrastructure and provide a central decision-making framework under the Planning Act 2008. In practice these policy documents set out a policy base for examining major infrastructure proposals, are used by the Planning Inspectorate (PINS) during the examination stage of the Development Consent Order (DCO) process and help ensure that decisions are made in line with national priorities.
NPS form the framework for planning decisions under the Planning Act 2008, guiding how major infrastructure projects are assessed and approved. Importantly, where the relevant NPS is up to date, it effectively establishes the national need for this type of infrastructure. As such, the applicant does not generally need to demonstrate the strategic need for the development in principle, and the Examining Authority is instead primarily concerned with the impacts, location, mitigation and overall planning balance of the proposed scheme. Recognising the importance of NPS in establishing national need and guiding decision-making on NSIPs, the Planning and Infrastructure Act 2025 introduced a statutory duty for Government to keep NPS's under regular review and update them at least every five years. The Act does, however, allow for this timetable to be extended in exceptional circumstances, subject to an explanation being provided to Parliament.
Interactions with NPS
For those entering the world of NSIPs, whether a proposal is treated as an NSIP determines which planning process applies:
The planning route depends on whether the proposal meets statutory thresholds, these thresholds are critical as they determine whether a proposal enters the NSIP regime, influences whether a DCO is required and ensures the proposal is handled at a national level.
These statutory thresholds can be identified through primary legislation such as the Planning Act 2008 and associated secondary regulations. They are designed to set a clear legal boundary between local planning decisions (handled under the TCPA regime) and nationally determined infrastructure decisions (handled through NSIP/DCO regime).
A project only becomes an NSIP if it meets defined quantitative or qualitative criteria, such as:
-
Size or capacity (e.g. MW for energy generation, throughput for ports),
-
Physical scale (e.g. length of pipelines or rail schemes),
-
Type of infrastructure (certain categories are automatically included),
-
Combined or hybrid thresholds (e.g. expansions of existing infrastructure).
If a project does not meet these thresholds, it remains within the TCPA system and is decided locally.
Where a project does not clearly fall within defined thresholds, the Secretary of State may issue a Section 35 direction, bringing it into the NSIP regime anyway. This is used where:
-
a project has national significance but falls just outside thresholds, or
-
it is strategically important but not explicitly covered by existing categories.
Thresholds are not just administrative, they directly affect:
-
Which consenting route applies (TCPA vs DCO),
-
Who makes the decision (LPA vs SoS),
-
Which policy framework dominates (local plans vs NPS),
-
How the proposal is examined (local committee vs formal national examination process).
They effectively determine the entire governance structure for a project before policy even comes into play.
What does an NPS look like?
Government guidance sets out policy for nationally significant infrastructure across three main sectors:
An announcement in October 2025, set out that the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology will be preparing a new National Policy Statement for data centres.
If an NPS is still in draft form, it has not been formally designated. However, it may still be considered as a relevant and important factor in decision-making alongside other government policies.
Where no National Policy Statement applies to a proposed development, decisions are still made under Section 105 of the Planning Act 2008, but the Secretary of State must take a broader range of factors into account.
These include:
- Any local impact report submitted by the relevant local authority,
- Any prescribed matters relevant to the type of development, and
- Any other important and relevant considerations identified for the decision.
This ensures that even without a designated NPS, decisions are still made on a structured, evidence-based basis considering both local and national factors.
DISCLAIMER: The PAS team updates these pages regularly to reflect current guidance on NSIPs as best we can. Our goal is to provide accurate, timely information to support local planning authorities. If you are from a local authority and have any questions about the content or need further information, please contact us at [email protected]. This page was last updated on 11/05/26.