Summary
- The draft National Policy Statement concerns England’s NSIP consent process.
- It sets out proposed assessment and planning criteria for major facilities.
- Consultation closes on 8 January 2027; the document is not adopted policy.
The Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade has published a draft National Policy Statement for data centres, setting out the proposed assessment framework for major computing infrastructure developments seeking consent through England’s nationally significant infrastructure system.
The draft was published on 28 October and is open for public consultation until 11.59pm on 8 January 2027. It explains the policy context, assessments and considerations intended to guide decisions on qualifying data centre proposals using the Nationally Significant Infrastructure Project, or NSIP, regime.
The 94-page document is accompanied by an Appraisal of Sustainability and a Habitats Regulations Assessment, prepared by independent experts. Those materials examine the effects of the proposed policy as the government develops the framework for national development consent decisions.
Data centre developers in England can now seek the NSIP consent route where the relevant requirements are met. The draft National Policy Statement would guide the Secretary of State and examiners in considering projects under that process; it is not itself a development consent for any individual site.
The publication follows earlier government consideration of Critical National Priority treatment for data centres. It adds a proposed decision framework to that policy debate, rather than simply restating an intention to produce one.
Power, cooling and land are part of consent
Large data centres bring together buildings, electrical connections, cooling infrastructure, access roads and communications networks. The impacts of a proposed campus can therefore extend well beyond its data halls, particularly where additional substations or network reinforcement are needed.
National infrastructure planning must assess the project submitted, including relevant environmental effects and the infrastructure on which its operation depends. The requirements will vary according to location, design, intended operating load and the available supporting networks.
Cooling arrangements can affect electricity demand, water consumption, noise and heat rejection. A proposal using evaporative systems may present different resource questions from one designed around other cooling technologies, while the eventual operating demand depends on equipment installed and utilisation.
Construction itself may create effects involving transport, noise, land use and local services. The assessment of those matters needs to consider the scale and duration of works and whether supporting infrastructure forms part of the same application.
The government says the draft will explain what applicants should consider, including the assessments required and how decisions balance infrastructure need against project-specific effects. The accompanying environmental assessments form part of the consultation rather than a finding that every future project will be acceptable.
Consultation precedes adoption
The government is inviting views from developers, operators, infrastructure suppliers, planning bodies, communities and others affected by major data centre construction. Responses may influence the final policy before it is adopted.
A national consenting route does not itself remove the need for electrical network capacity. A project can obtain planning permission or development consent while still facing network construction, connection costs or delays before its equipment can be energised.
The reverse also applies. A developer may have a connection agreement but still need planning consent for the buildings and infrastructure it proposes to construct. The decisions address different constraints and cannot be treated as interchangeable.
The draft applies to England. Government guidance notes that it may also be a material consideration in some decisions elsewhere in Great Britain, but the English NSIP process does not automatically govern developments in Scotland or Wales.
The separate consultation on strategic electricity demand is relevant to this programme, since planning and electricity delivery must work together for large projects to become operational. The publication of both policies in the same period does not confer immediate priority or capacity on any particular developer.
The consultation closes on 8 January 2027. Subsequent government consideration and the formal policy process will determine the version ultimately adopted, while individual data centre projects will continue to require their own technical evidence and development decisions.
Applicants using the nationally significant process need to prepare evidence suitable for examination by the relevant decision-makers, and communities must be able to respond through the statutory procedures. A national policy framework can make the criteria clearer while leaving the merits of individual projects to be determined through their own applications.
The accompanying sustainability and habitats assessments address the policy document, not an identified campus. They cannot substitute for the assessment required where the location and engineering characteristics of a particular development create site-specific effects.
