Legislation – The Infrastructure (Wales) Act 2024 (Consequential, Transitional, Revocation and Saving Provisions) Regulations 2025

The Infrastructure (Wales) Act 2024 (“the 2024 Act”) establishes a unified application and consenting process to enable the making and consideration of applications for infrastructure consent. The process applies to types of major infrastructure projects that are specified in Part 1 of the 2024 Act. Broadly, they are energy, transport, waste and water projects.

The new process under the 2024 Act replaces, fully or partially, a number of existing statutory regimes for the consenting of significant infrastructure projects, including in particular, planning permission for developments of national significance under Part 3 of the Town and Country Planning Act 1990 (“the 1990 Act”). To the extent that consent under section 19 of the 2024 Act is required for development, the consents referred to in section 20 of the 2024 Act are either not required for, or may not authorise, development.

Regulations 2 to 19 make amendments to secondary legislation which are consequential on the 2024 Act. In particular they ensure the 2024 Act is referenced where appropriate. References to developments of national significance are omitted except to the extent that they are required for the purposes of operation of the transitional provision in section 146 of the 2024 Act.

Regulation 20 makes transitional provision which is supplementary to section 146 of the 2024 Act.

Regulation 21 revokes regulations relating to developments of national significance.

Regulation 22 reflects the saving provision in section 146(10) of the 2024 Act.

The Welsh Ministers’ Code of Practice on the carrying out of Regulatory Impact Assessments was considered in relation to these Regulations. As a result, it was not considered necessary to carry out a regulatory impact assessment.