The Department for Transport has brought into force the M25 Junction 10/A3 Wisley Interchange Development Consent (Amendment) Order 2026, made on 16 July 2026 and effective from 17 July 2026. The instrument was signed by Natasha Kopala, Head of the Transport and Works Act Orders Unit, acting by authority of the Secretary of State for Transport. The published version is also a substituted instrument. According to the text, it replaces S.I. 2026/842 after the earlier version was wrongly classified as a local non-print statutory instrument instead of a printed local instrument. That correction affects publication status rather than the substance of the amendment itself.
The order does not grant a new planning approval for the M25 Junction 10/A3 Wisley scheme. Instead, it amends the existing 2022 development consent order made under the Planning Act 2008, which remains the principal legal consent for the interchange works. The route used was the non-material change procedure under paragraph 2 of Schedule 6 to the 2008 Act and the Infrastructure Planning (Changes to, and Revocation of, Development Consent Orders) Regulations 2011. The Secretary of State states that the application was considered alongside responses received through the required publicity and consultation process under regulations 6 and 7 before the amendment was made.
The main operative changes sit in Schedule 3 to the 2022 order, which deals with road classification and related controls. Part 5, covering speed limits, is amended so that several rows are omitted from the schedule. The explanatory note states that speed limits for the M25 carriageway, the two free-flow slip lanes entering the motorway and the M25 on-slip roads are prescribed under the M25 Motorway (Junctions 7 to 16) (Variable Speed Limits) Regulations 2012. In practical terms, the amendment removes duplication between the development consent order and the separate traffic regulation regime already governing that part of the motorway.
The order also alters the recorded extents for two dedicated free-flow slip lanes at Junction 10. For the A3 northbound to M25 westbound slip lane, the figure in column 2 is reduced from 205 to 39.12. For the A3 southbound to M25 eastbound slip lane, the figure changes from 210 to 45.25. The explanatory note adds that the schedule is being amended to remove reference to a road where works are no longer proposed. Taken together, the changes are consistent with a tighter description of the road elements covered by the order rather than a materially different transport scheme.
A further amendment is made to Schedule 11, which lists the documents to be certified. The entry for the Speed Limits and Traffic Regulation Plans is updated so that the document reference changes from TR010030/APP/2.7 to TR010030/APP/2.8, and the revision number moves from 3 to 4. For planning authorities, promoters and highways teams, this is a significant point in procedural terms. The certified document list identifies the version of the plans that carries legal effect, so even limited drafting changes usually need a formal amendment where the statutory plan set is being updated.
The overall effect is narrow but legally important. The 2026 order does not reopen the principle of the M25 Junction 10/A3 Wisley interchange project, nor does it suggest a fresh round of consenting for the wider scheme. It adjusts the 2022 order so that speed limit provisions sit in the correct regulatory instrument, scheduled road extents reflect the current position and the certified plans match the revised documentation. For those tracking Planning Act 2008 projects, the case is a clear example of post-consent management within the development consent order regime. Changes that may appear administrative in project terms can still require a statutory instrument where the legal consent, road schedules or certified documents need to be corrected or updated.