Reforming planning rules to accelerate deployment of digital infrastructure

From:: Department for Science, Innovation and Technology and Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government
Published: 18 December 2025

Applies to England

Summary

A call for evidence on changing planning rules to make it faster to build digital infrastructure.

This call for evidence closes at
11:59pm on 26 February 2026

Call for evidence description

We want to hear from you about whether we should change planning rules and update policy guidance. This would mean:

digital infrastructure like phone masts and broadband infrastructure could be built faster, helping to improve coverage across the country
communities everywhere could benefit from better connectivity

We’re focusing on specific problems in the planning system that slow down or add unnecessary costs to building infrastructure. This is particularly about low-impact upgrades or new equipment that should not face these delays.

Documents