The Welsh Green Party, winning two seats for the first time, has expressed its intension to work with Plaid Cymru, being the only other party to vote for Rhun ap Iorwerth as first minister – with both Labour and the Liberal Democrats abstaining.

Based on Plaid Cymru’s manifesto, published on 9 April, along with a plan outlining a programme for its first 100 days in government, we can glean likely priorities for ‘quick wins’ as well as more transformational change for the planning system over the next four years.

POWER TO THE PEOPLE

Plaid Cymru proposes creating a community-centred planning system, intending to reduce bureaucracy whilst strengthening local influence. This includes reforming consultation processes to give communities genuine influence over Local Development Plans (LDPs). The Green Party shares these ambitions of strengthening community participation in LDPs and removing planning barriers to community-led housing and co-operatives.

We are yet to find out what these reforms will look like, but it raises questions over what the statutory pre-application consultation process could entail, as well as LDP preparation. 

EXTENDED PERMITTED DEVELOPMENT RIGHTS

As part of its planning reform, Plaid Cymru plans to extend permitted development rights for:

• Community-led housing (i.e. single dwellings and the conversion of farm buildings to residential use)
• Renewable and small-scale energy projects (i.e. single small turbines and rooftop and small ground-mounted solar)
• Heat pumps and household renewables

In theory, this should reduce complexity and bureaucracy within the process, in the hope of speeding up access to housing and green energy. However, Royal Town Planning Institute Cymru has raised concerns about this approach saying that its priority would always be to ensure that the planning system works effectively first, rather than simply bypassing it using permitted development rights.

SECTION 106 REFORM

Plaid Cymru states that the system requires a stronger and clearer use of Section 106 agreements (soon to become S165 after the introduction of the Planning (Wales) Act 2026) to deliver tangible local benefits. This likely stems from a growing mismatch between the developer contributions held by councils and the timely delivery of new infrastructure and community amenities.

As research from the Home Builders Federation shows, local authorities in England and Wales have an estimated £9 billion of developer contributions sitting unspent, including around £3 billion held for more than five years, even though many agreements require spending within that timescale. Whilst a useful aim, it is unclear at this stage what Plaid Cymru intends to do to change or improve existing legislation.

A NEW NATIONAL DEVELOPMENT FRAMEWORK IN 100 DAYS

Plaid Cymru is committed to delivering a new National Development Framework (NDF) and overhauling spatial planning to reduce duplication between regional bodies – an aim that is part of its first 100-days plan. This is intended to address Plaid Cymru’s criticism of a current lack of spatial strategy in Wales and fragmentation of designated zones. The party believes there is too much duplication between corporate joint committees, regional partnership boards, and public services boards, and that the geographic footprints of these and other bodies lack coherence, though critics argue that there is little overlap between some of these bodies.

The extant NDF, Future Wales: the national plan 2040, has only recently been under review, passing its first five‑year monitoring and assessed as sound at this stage of the 20‑year plan period. Whilst the review did not identify an urgent need for amendment to the framework, several recommendations were made for the next government to address, including greater development plan policy coverage, and monitoring progress on Strategic Development Plans (SDPs).

It is unclear at this stage what implications this planning ‘shake-up’ will have for the progress of SDPs in Wales, some of which are reaching call-for-sites stage this summer (including South East and South West Wales).

THE GREEN ENERGY PARADOX

Plaid Cymru has committed to renewable energy expansion, including offshore wind, green hydrogen and community energy. It plans to expand Trydan Gwyrdd Cymru, the publicly owned renewable energy developer established by the Welsh Government under Labour in 2024. Plaid Cymru plans to merge Trydan with Ynni Cymru and the Welsh Government Energy Service to create a single, strengthened national energy company.

It is also aiming to seek the right balance between food security, nature recovery and access to nature, local development needs, and renewable energy when it comes to land use. Plaid Cymru also plans to prohibit large steel lattice pylons with a presumption in favour of undergrounding and overhead alternatives, permitted only where installation is via low wooden poles or equivalent, less intrusive infrastructure[1].

The future of renewable energy is reliant on associated infrastructure and grid connections, some of which require an upgraded grid network. Plaid Cymru will need to balance its own plans to protect agriculture and rural land, versus where the renewable energy, needed to reach its own net-zero targets, will actually go.

This balancing act will also likely be seen between Plaid Cymru’s need to make renewables work for Wales and opposition from local people impacted by schemes in their area. Plaid Cymru proposes that energy projects over 10 MW will be subject to a minimum community ownership stake of 15-25%, equivalent local-benefit model, wealth fund payment, or corresponding means of capturing community benefits for all as a key condition of consent – despite such measures not being material in the decision-making process.

[1] Plaid Cymru Manifesto for the Senedd Election 2026, p.45

YR IAITH GYMRAEG – THE WELSH LANGUAGE

As the party of Wales, the future of the Welsh language is an integral priority for Plaid Cymru, and tools within the planning system, such as Welsh Language Impact Assessments, will be used to ensure its survival and growth. Plaid Cymru plans to work with local authorities to implement the Commission for Welsh-speaking Communities’ recommendations on town and country planning.

CLOSING REMARKS

With 43 MSs, Plaid Cymru still falls six seats short of a majority. To implement its plans it will have to depend heavily on its ability to secure cross-party support and maintain constructive relationships with smaller parties, particularly the Greens. Plaid will be subject to scrutiny from Reform, which has a clear anti-net-zero agenda[2], as well as potential opposition from Labour, the Conservatives, and Liberal Democrats.

Arguably, Plaid Cymru’s biggest planning predicament will be balancing the dual ambitions of expanding renewable energy infrastructure at the same time as protecting rural landscapes. Delivering on net-zero targets, whilst securing public support and safeguarding Wales’ natural and cultural assets, will require careful policy calibration and potentially difficult trade-offs.

Whilst the direction of travel is clear – towards a more community-led planning system, accelerated renewable energy deployment, and stronger national coordination – many of the proposals currently lack detail around implementation. The coming months will be critical in translating manifesto commitments into clear policy direction. For developers, local authorities and communities alike, early clarity and consistent engagement will be key to ensuring that reform of the planning system delivers both efficiency and equitable outcomes.

[2] Reform Wales Senedd Manifesto 2026, pp.24-25

Further information

Contact Lucy Such