Rural councils across England will be required to approve a significant increase in wind and solar farms under a new set of planning rules introduced by Housing Secretary Angela Rayner.
The changes, outlined in draft planning documents from the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government, aim to accelerate the UK’s transition to green energy and achieve net zero targets.
Under the revised National Planning Policy Framework, local authorities must actively support projects that contribute to renewable and low-carbon energy. This shift means that councils that reject such proposals risk costly legal appeals, which developers are likely to win, making it harder for local authorities to block such developments.
The changes come on the heels of Scotland recently approving the construction of the country’s tallest building. Wind turbines In the UK, the solar tower is 823ft tall, and Labour has decided to lift a ban on onshore wind farms in England. The new rules will require councils to identify areas suitable for renewable energy projects within their local plans, and will expand their responsibility to approve projects generating up to 100MW – double the current limit.
Although the guidelines still allow council members on planning committees to reject projects, any rejections are expected to be challenged and likely overturned on appeal. The initiative is part of a broader effort to remove bottlenecks in the approval process, which previously required national oversight for projects larger than 50 MW.
Angela Rayner’s planning reform is expected to pave the way for large-scale wind farm development across England, similar to those already seen in Scotland and Wales, but with the potential to use much larger machines than previously used.
A spokesperson for Rayner stressed the importance of community engagement in the rollout of renewable energy projects, and ensuring local areas benefit from hosting such infrastructure. However, legal experts such as Mustafa Latif Aramesh of BDB Pitmans pointed out that the changes would make it much harder for councils to reject wind and solar proposals, thereby enhancing the UK’s energy resilience.
Advocacy groups such as Britain Remade argue that the government should go further in easing planning restrictions, proposing that large swathes of rural England be automatically deemed suitable for renewable energy projects to streamline the approval process. They suggest prioritising sites close to grid connections, population centres and lower-grade agricultural land, with Lincolnshire as a prime example.
Despite the renewable energy efforts, some areas, including national parks and sites of special scientific interest, will retain protection against large-scale development. Organisations such as Natural England are working to expand these protected areas to protect vulnerable landscapes from the expected increase in renewable energy projects.
Environmental groups, while supporting the transition to green energy, have called for careful consideration of the impact on landscapes and wildlife. Catherine Brown of The Wildlife Trusts stressed the need to build renewable infrastructure in a way that avoids unnecessary damage to nature, reflecting a broader sense that the pursuit of net zero must be balanced with conservation.