Mandatory pre-application consultation for nationally significant infrastructure projects (NSIPs) is being scrapped by the UK government, which claims this could cut pre-application timelines by up to 12 months. Ministers estimate the change will save promoters around £1bn across major schemes such as energy, transport and water infrastructure that currently pass through the Development Consent Order regime. Developers may gain programme certainty and earlier start dates for large projects, while local authorities and communities will need to rely more heavily on examination-stage engagement and statutory environmental assessments.

British Columbia’s 2019 Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples Act (DRIPA) is creating legal uncertainty for miners, with West High Yield Resources’ C$30-million Record Ridge magnesium project halted for six weeks by an injunction despite an agreement with the Osoyoos Indian Band and now facing downriver opposition from a US-based First Nation. A December BC Court of Appeal ruling found the Mineral Tenure Act’s automated claim-staking inconsistent with UNDRIP and confirmed courts can test DRIPA compliance, prompting a Supreme Court of Canada appeal due for responses by 24 September. While exploration and evaluation spending in BC hit a record C$751 million in 2025, AME and financiers warn unclear FPIC and consultation requirements are delaying the “next wave” of junior projects and complicating ground-disturbance permitting.

HS2 has lost its Court of Appeal challenge over planning changes linked to the Bromford Tunnel extension at Water Orton, after North Warwickshire Borough Council overturned an earlier High Court ruling by Justice Dove. The dispute centres on modifications to the HS2 alignment and associated works in North Warwickshire, which required revised planning controls and local consent mechanisms. The judgment reinforces local planning authorities’ leverage over design changes to major linear infrastructure, with potential implications for programme risk, land acquisition strategy and construction phasing on remaining HS2 works.