The new Act will help the Land Registry to improve the conveyancing process by creating a digitised local land charges register that will improve access to data, standardise fees and improve turnaround times for property professionals and citizens, reducing unreasonable and excessive delays.
The Act also:
- Creates a new Government owned subsidiary company from 1 April 2015, known as Highways England, that will take over the responsibility for strategic roads from the Highways Agency
- Allows surplus and redundant public sector property and land to be sold more quickly by cutting red tape
- Allows local communities the right to buy a stake in renewable energy infrastructure projects
- Sets out a cycling and walking investment strategy
- Creates a new right to use land to exploit petrol or deep geothermal energy without notifying owners, which includes the right for fracking under land.
- Provides the Mayor of London with new powers to make development orders granting planning permission for development on specified sites within London. The intention is to overcome cross-boundary planning issues and remove barriers to major development.
- Improves the nationally significant infrastructure regime through technical administrative improvements to the Planning Act 2008.
Transport Secretary Patrick McLoughlin praised the new Act: “[it] will hugely boost Britain’s competitiveness in transport, energy provision, housing development and nationally significant infrastructure projects. Cost efficient infrastructure development is all part of the government’s long term economic plan, boosting competitiveness, jobs and growth.”
