Statutory consultation falls away for DCO projects: what live schemes need to know

From 24 July 2026, the pre-application landscape for DCO projects changes materially. 

The Planning and Infrastructure Act 2025 reforms brought into force by the latest June 2026 commencement regulations (the snappily titled Planning and Infrastructure Act 2025 (Commencement No. 4 and Transitional Provisions) Regulations 2026) will from 24 July 2026 remove several of the familiar statutory pre-application consultation duties under the Planning Act 2008. For developers with projects already in progress, the key question is simple: does your project stay on the current track, or move into the new regime?

The headline point is that the statutory requirements to consult under section 42, prepare and follow a Statement of Community Consultation, consult for a minimum period, and take account of consultation responses under section 49, are all being removed from 24 July 2026. 

That does not mean a complete absence of pre-application steps. Applicants will still need to notify the Secretary of State, each host local authority and, where relevant, the Marine Management Organisation, with prescribed information about the proposed application. The duty to publicise the proposed application is also retained, although further detail on the required approach is still awaited in (as-yet unpublished) guidance. 

The acceptance test is also being reshaped in line with these changes. Rather than focusing on compliance with the previous consultation regime, the Secretary of State will look at matters including compliance with the new notification duty, the applicant’s approach to publicity, the quality and sufficiency of the application documents, and the extent to which relevant advice and guidance has been taken into account. 

For live projects, the transitional provisions may be applicable. These specifically deal with a scenario in which an applicant has notified the Secretary of State of an intended application for development consent under section 46 before 24 July 2026. That step conventionally takes place as the first in the round of pre-application statutory consultation.  In those cases, the revised acceptance test does not apply in the same way and further guidance is expected to provide greater detail on how transitional projects should approach the final stages of preparing their application. 

The government clearly advises against developers seeing the reforms as a reason to stop engaging altogether. Engagement will remain commercially and strategically important, particularly for de-risking examination, managing local relationships and flushing out issues that could otherwise emerge later in the process. The legal framework is changing, but the practical value of early, targeted engagement remains. That said, there are clearly opportunities for substantial time and cost savings if that engagement is programmed and conducted on a more flexible and proportionate basis. 

The detail of what the expectations for consultation will be under the new regime are yet to be provided. The government is due to publish guidance covering this, alongside details of the new pre-application notification and publicity requirements, shortly.

Developers with projects in progress may wish to seek advice on how the transitional provisions apply to them and how the new guidance will apply to their projects, once published.   We advise on the full range of development consent applications, and are advising existing developer clients on the implications of these changes.  If you think we can help you, please do get in touch.

This blog was drafted by Alex Minhinick (Partner) and Olivia Heininger (Associate).