Nationally significant infrastructure projects
Large-scale energy projects and NSIPs
Latest updates
The Bramford to Twinstead project is under construction, you can find more information on the National Grid webpage.
The Norwich to Tilbury project is at examination, due to close 10th August with the decision due by 10th February 2027. You can find more information of the Planning Inspectorate webpage.
The EcoPower project is at statutory consultation until 16th August, you can find more details on the EcoPower Suffolk webpage.
Charging for NSIP services
Host Local Authorities can charge fees for work on Nationally Significant Infrastructure Projects (NSIPs) following changes to national planning regulations, from 8 June 2026.
The Government has amended Schedule 2 of the Infrastructure Planning (Fees) Regulations 2010, adding host local authorities to the list of Prescribed Public Authorities. This amendment provides Councils with the legal power to recover costs for the services they provide in connection with NSIPs. This means that Local Authorities can charge for their statutory involvement in NSIP proposals affecting its area. This includes providing technical advice, taking part in pre‑application discussions, and contributing to examination and post‑consent activities.
These new powers ensure that Councils are properly resourced to engage with major national infrastructure and represent the interests of the local area.
In the first instance, the council(s) will seek to enter into a Planning Performance Agreement (PPA) with developers to establish a mutually agreed, clear and contractually robust, set of engagement and cost recovery principles for both parties. Where a PPA is not agreed, the Council will seek to recover costs as follows:
Relevant services that the council(s) will, where applicable, recover costs for include:
- Planning
- Project management & support
- Compliance monitoring & enforcement
- Ecology
- Landscape
- Built heritage
- Economic development
- Environmental health
- Soil management
- Legal services
The council(s) will apply a standard hourly rate for relevant services. This rate will be applied to the actual time spent by officers on a given project. The rate (excluding VAT) is £90 an hour. This rate is set on a cost recovery basis only, and will be kept under review. Legal costs and any external specialist expertise will be set out separately as required. If and where it is identified that the rate exceeds the reasonable costs incurred, the excess will be reimbursed accordingly to ensure compliance with cost recovery principles.
If requested by applicant, the council(s) can provide estimated fees (for the purposes of cost recovery) covering the lifecycle of an NSIP.
What are NSIPs?
Nationally significant infrastructure projects (NSIPs) are large-scale projects that relate to either energy, waste, transport or water.
Examples of NSIPs include roads, railway lines, power stations, and offshore windfarms.
The scale of these developments causes them to be large and complicated projects that take many years to complete.
How are NSIPs dealt with?
NSIPs are processed and decided by the Planning Inspectorate.
Many different people are consulted to get the best available knowledge on the proposal and its impacts. This includes local communities and councils.
Large-scale energy projects
Large-scale energy projects (that are smaller than NSIPs) are processed and decided by councils in a similar way to normal planning applications.
These projects are also dealt with by our Strategic Projects team because of their important role in the wider energy network of the region.
More information on NSIPs
You can find more information on NSIPs in general and projects in Suffolk, including an interactive map, on the Suffolk County Council website.