There is a temptation to follow the old rule book, which brought structure to engagement and programme. But to stick with the familiar route would be to miss the opportunity for better engagement, better design, and quicker programmes.
The future DCO
24 Feb 26
“How would you feel if a solar farm this big was being proposed next to you?”
It’s a question I’ve been asked countless times in village halls at consultation events across the country. Replace ‘solar farm’ with any major infrastructure project and the reaction is usually the same: when something big is proposed near existing communities, the instinct is to push back. Understandably so. Under the previous DCO regime, those conversations often played out in village halls during tightly defined consultation windows.
Back in the office, I hear another recurring question: “How do we speed up the programme?”
Why should it take close to two years just to reach DCO submission?
The textbook answer has always been that major infrastructure needs time to consult properly and take stakeholder views into account. But ask the person in the village hall whether that process has always felt effective…
So, what for the future of DCOs?
The Planning and Infrastructure Act, which received Royal Assent in December last year, introduces a more flexible pre-application regime for nationally significant infrastructure projects. The Act removes the previous highly prescriptive statutory consultation procedures and replaces them with a streamlined, guidance-led approach.
This should allow for more open and collaborative masterplanning workshops that test options. It allows communities to articulate what is important to them and how it should be protected. It will allow projects to be shaped through open dialogue rather than thousands of pages of environmental assessment throughout the pre-application phase.
In short, the Act gives the chance to move from consultation as a procedural hurdle to engagement as a genuine design tool — better for project delivery, and better for communities.
But that is only the start of the story. Positive change requires DCO design teams to take the opportunity to do things differently. There is a temptation to follow the old rule book, which brought structure to engagement and programme. But to stick with the familiar route would be to miss the opportunity for better engagement, better design, and quicker programmes. Good design and good consultation go hand in hand. Taking the opportunity afforded by the Act unlocks a more transparent and iterative design process.
By the time you read this I’ll be at the Waterfront NSIP conference, listening to Iceni’s DCO Director, Anna Sutherland-Bamber, speaking about the future of DCOs. Iceni are embracing the changes afforded by the Act. Used rightly, this will allow communities to have a greater role in crafting these projects for the better.
If you would like to talk to us about DCO’s, get in touch with myself or Anna Sutherland-Bamber.
Sam Griffiths
Director,Landscape,Development Consent Orders
Related insights:
-
Celebrating our newest female leaders for IWD 2026
03 Mar 26 | Ashleigh Bullough
-
The future DCO
24 Feb 26 | Sam Griffiths
-
The 2026 Heritage Outlook: Turning Policy Revisions into Development Drivers
03 Feb 26 | Rebecca Mason