MediaResponding to the Government’s plan for infrastructure planning reform, Sam Richards, founder and Campaign Director for pro-growth campaign group Britain Remade, said:
“The action plan published by the Government today is a step in the right direction, but it does not go far enough.
“At the time of a cost of living crisis that has seen energy bills skyrocket Government should be doing all it can to deliver domestic energy security, through clean energy projects, so we can bring down energy bills and no longer be reliant on expensive foreign gas.
“It currently takes up to 13 years for an offshore wind farm to go from being an idea to generating power, despite construction of the turbines only taking two to three years. While the reforms announced today may shave a few years off this, eleven years would still be far too long for an offshore wind farm to be up and running.
“Just last month the decision for Hornsea Four, an offshore wind farm big enough to power 2million homes, was delayed by five months by the Government.
“Unnecessarily paperwork and red tape is not only holding back the delivery of major clean energy projects, UK PLC is missing out on a significant boost to the economy that thousands of good-quality well paid jobs, especially in Britain’s former industrial heartlands, would create.”