National Policy Statement: Ports

Development of ports in England, as in other parts of the United Kingdom, is essential for supporting growth, energy resilience and energy transition. It is equally important that this development should take place with consideration for the environment, and that port facilities should be well designed with both those ends in mind.

The national policy statement for ports, which applies to England, and in Wales, to the reserved trust port, Milford Haven, sets the policy framework for decisions on nationally significant infrastructure in the sector. It continues the long-standing policy of enabling our competitive ports sector to respond in an agile manner to rapidly evolving market demands, using the Department’s port freight demand forecasts—which we published alongside our consultation—as a yardstick but not as a constraint on local commercial judgments. It also updates the policy in detail to reflect the wider present institutional and regulatory framework, and the Government’s priorities.

I am grateful to everyone who responded to the consultation on earlier drafts, and to the Transport Committee for its thorough scrutiny of the proposals. Following that consultation and scrutiny, I am today, pursuant to section 9(5) of Planning Act 2008, presenting a response to the Transport Committee’s report (HC 1028) on its scrutiny and to the consultation, and pursuant to section 9(8), laying before Parliament the final proposed text of the amended national policy statement for the prescribed consideration period of 21 sitting days.

Copies of these documents will be made available in the Library of each House and on the Department’s website, where a post-adoption statement will also be published in due course.

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