The Transport and Works (Applications, Objections, Listed Buildings, Inquiries and Decisions Procedure) (England and Wales) (Amendment) Regulations 2026 were made on 27 October 2026, laid before Parliament on 30 October 2026 and come into force on 20 November 2026. Signed for the Department for Transport by Simon Lightwood and for the Ministry of Justice by Alex Davies-Jones, the instrument revises the procedural code used for transport and works order cases in England and Wales. The immediate purpose is to shorten and structure the route from application to decision. The Explanatory Note states that the Regulations introduce statutory deadlines for inquiries and determinations, reduce several periods in the written procedure, and add the practical machinery needed for deemed listed building consent, conservation area consent in Wales, and deemed marine licences under the Transport and Works Act 1992 framework.
The commencement clause is not a simple switch-over for every live case. Regulation 1 provides that the full set of changes applies to relevant applications made on or after 20 November 2026. For applications made before that date, only the inquiry changes in regulation 3 apply, and then only where the written notice defined in the 2004 inquiry rules has not yet been issued. Older cases that have already passed that stage remain under the previous procedure. That transitional design matters in practice. During the next cycle of live projects, promoters, objectors and advisers may be dealing with two different procedural timetables at the same time, depending on when the application was lodged and how far the case has already moved through the statutory process.
One part of the instrument removes older heritage procedure that is no longer needed in its previous form. The 1992 Regulations on listed buildings, conservation areas and ancient monuments lose several definitions, the reference to certain concurrent inquiries is narrowed, and regulations 3, 3A and related schedules are omitted. The Explanatory Note says those deletions are intended to support the deemed listed building regime inserted by section 43 of the Planning and Infrastructure Act 2025. The policy effect is to move heritage consent issues linked to transport and works orders away from a separate legacy procedure and into the updated main application route.
The amendments to the 2004 Inquiries Procedure Rules are aimed at stopping inquiries from running without a clear end point. The period in rule 7(6) is reduced from 12 to 10. More significantly, the inspector must now propose or set a date by which the inquiry must close, and that date must be no later than three months after the inquiry begins. Where a pre-inquiry meeting is held, the inspector is under the same duty to fix a closing date. The timetable for the inquiry can still be varied, but any later variation or suspension of the closing date itself requires the consent of the Secretary of State. Notices of inquiry must also include that closing date. The result is a firmer outer limit on oral proceedings, with a controlled route for extension where a case genuinely requires one.
The post-inquiry stage is also brought within a clearer timetable. The change to rule 20 ties the report stage to a three-month period beginning on the date the inquiry is completed. The Secretary of State must then determine the application within three months of the later of receiving the report or receiving the last item of any additional information requested after the report has been submitted. The Regulations also create a duty to notify both the applicant and any objector of the date set for determination. Rule 23 is expanded so that where further time is allowed, a revised determination date must be notified. It also makes clear that if an applicant fails to pay inquiry or hearing costs when due, the determination period may be extended for the length of that non-payment. For scheme promoters, that turns cost compliance into a live programme issue rather than a back-office matter.
The changes to the 2006 Applications and Objections Rules are especially important for front-end case management. In England, the objection period is reduced from 42 days to 30 days, while Wales remains at 42 days. The rules now define the deadline by reference to a working day, with any period ending on a non-working day moving to the next working day. The operative date is also reduced from 28 days to 14 days. That is a clear acceleration for English cases. Local authorities, statutory consultees, affected owners and community objectors will have less time to prepare submissions, while applicants will move more quickly to the point at which the Secretary of State decides whether the case can be dealt with on paper, by hearing or by inquiry.
A further block of amendments gives practical effect to the deemed consent powers added by the Planning and Infrastructure Act 2025. Where an application seeks a deemed marine licence, the applicant must consult the Marine Management Organisation for England or Natural Resources Wales for Wales before pre-application documents are submitted. A draft marine licence must then be sent to the relevant body at least 28 days before the application is made. Equivalent supporting material is now required where an applicant seeks a direction deeming listed building consent, or in Wales listed building or conservation area consent. The application must include a written request, any proposed conditions, and the relevant supporting heritage documents. For England, that includes a design and access statement under the 1990 listed buildings procedure regulations. For Wales, it includes a heritage impact statement under the 2024 Welsh regulations. Publicity provisions are amended so notices state clearly when a deemed permission, consent or licence is being sought.
The instrument also creates quicker determination tracks for cases where there is little or no live dispute. New rules 22A and 22B require the Secretary of State to determine certain applications within three months where no compliant representations are received, where the Secretary of State considers the remaining objections to fall within section 10(3)(a) or (b), or where all objections and representations are withdrawn before the operative date. Those provisions reduce the scope for straightforward cases to sit in the system after the objection stage has effectively ended. The Secretary of State must notify the applicant of the determination date and, where relevant, notify objectors that their objections appear to fall within the statutory categories that do not require a fuller process.
Where a case proceeds by written representations, the timetable is shortened throughout. The periods in rule 24 are cut from 28 to 14, from 7 to 5, and from 21 to 14, with additional working-day protection where a five-day period ends on a non-working day. A new three-month determination deadline then applies once the written stage has reached the relevant concluding point set out in the rule. The Regulations also address hearings and court challenges. New rule 25A imposes a three-month decision period after the Secretary of State receives the appointed person's report or the last of any further information requested following a hearing. New rule 25B sets out what happens if a court quashes a determination, requiring the Secretary of State to identify the matters on which further representations are invited and giving parties three weeks to respond.
The schedules are updated to match the new regime. Notice forms now refer expressly to deemed listed building consent, conservation area consent and deemed marine licences. Service requirements are revised to reflect the role of the Welsh Ministers, relevant planning authorities and the Historic Environment (Wales) Act 2023. Additional notice provisions are inserted for owners and long leaseholders affected by works to listed buildings and demolition in Welsh conservation areas. The Government states that no full impact assessment has been prepared because the expected effects fall below the threshold requiring one. Even so, the operational effect is substantial. From 20 November 2026, Transport and Works Act cases will move under tighter statutory deadlines, with earlier document requirements for marine and heritage issues and a more defined route to decision for applications, objections, hearings and inquiries.