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Development consent orders (DCOs) are a form of development consent granted by the Secretary of State which authorise the development of Nationally Significant Infrastructure Projects (NSIPs). The Planning Act 2008 (PA 2008) introduced a faster and more transparent development consent system for NSIPs. Projects falling into one of the categories of NSIPs in PA 2008, Pt 3 must proceed via this streamlined system (see Practice Note: Permission for nationally significant infrastructure projects for a list of projects which constitute NSIPs).

Enforcement of PA 2008 regime is carried out by the relevant local planning authority (LPA), which pursuant to PA 2008, s 173 is the authority for the area within which the project is situated. In areas where there are both a district and county authority the district authority will assume responsibility for the enforcement of DCOs (except projects involving hazardous waste facilities, where the county authority will handle enforcement).