Environmental bodies will be stripped of their powers to delay major infrastructure projects in a bid to “get Britain building” again.
In changes aimed at speeding up 150 road, rail and energy schemes, regulators will no longer be able to demand that developers mitigate environmental harm before construction can begin.
Instead they will be asked to contribute to a new Nature Restoration Fund, which will pool the money to fund larger strategic interventions to protect habitats and wildlife, rather than on a site-by-site basis.
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The new law is also aimed at unblocking housebuilding in areas affected by controversial nutrient neutrality rules.
The water pollution restrictions have been blamed on preventing tens of thousands of new homes being built, with critics arguing houses have a minimal impact on nutrient levels in rivers compared with water companies and agriculture.
Former housing secretary Michael Gove sought to scrap the EU-derived rules in 2023, but this was prevented by a Labour-led rebellion in the House of Lords.
However, it is understood Labour ministers are not worried about a repeat of this scenario because they believe the impact will be offset by the Nature Restoration Fund, which could be used to clean up rivers.
A source close to the plans said the government consulted with nature groups to find “a practical solution that works as a win-win” for the environment and building.
Richard Benwell, chief executive of Wildlife and Countryside link, stopped short of criticising the announcement but called on Labour to honour its manifesto commitment to “restore the natural world”.
He told Sky News: “Under no circumstances should the government’s proposals open the door to unsustainable developments in return for vague promises of future gains.
“But done well, there’s a real opportunity here to improve the way developers fulfil environmental rules while multiplying investment and protection for nature recovery.”
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The government is under pressure as it seeks to deliver on its manifesto pledge for 1.5 million homes by the end of this parliament, and 150 decisions on infrastructure projects, to help achieve its mission of economic growth.
Pro-building campaigners have expressed concern over the feasibility of the plans, given problems with the UK’s clogged-up planning system.
At present, infrastructure projects have to secure mitigation for environmental harm to protected sites and species before being granted permission to build, adding costs and delays to the process.
£100m for HS2 bat shed
The issue was highlighted by the recent news that the beleaguered HS2 project had to spend £100m on at bat shed on a section of the line.
Sir John Thompson, the company’s chairman, said there was “no evidence that high-speed trains interfere with bats” and the cover was being built to appease the Whitehall advisory body, Natural England.
He called it a “genuine problem” with completing major infrastructure projects in the UK, with HS2 required to obtain over 8,000 planning consents from public bodies after legislation was passed to approve the project by central government in 2017.
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Reforms to speed up projects
Ministers said the reforms announced on Wednesday will help to speed up 150 projects, including new wind farms, railways and roads, gigafactories and data centres across the country.
The current rules mean developers are required to identify and meet environmental obligations on a project-by-project basis, which misses opportunities to find strategic solutions, the government said.
The new approach removes the need for individual site-level assessments and mitigation, with development able to proceed after a single payment to the Nature Restoration Fund in most cases.
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The fund is expected to be managed by Natural England, which will look at overall actions needed to protect sites and species in the country. This could include using the money to reduce water pollution or securing nesting habitats to increase the population of a certain species, for example.
It is hoped the fund will help developers to meet their environmental obligations faster and at greater scale by pooling contributions for larger interventions.
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The changes will be included in the Planning and Infrastructure Bill, which is expected to be introduced early this year.
Campaign group Britain Remade welcomed the announcement, saying that for “far too long” environmental agencies “have been able to hold up and delay the growth boosting infrastructure projects our economy desperately needs”.
Chief executive Sam Richards said: “From bat tunnels to fish discos these measures add huge delays to projects, cost hundreds of millions of pounds and do little to protect or enhance nature.”
Environment Secretary Steve Reed said: “Nature and development have been unnecessarily pitted against each other for too long. This has blocked economic growth but done nothing for nature’s recovery.
“These reforms will unblock infrastructure projects while protecting the natural environment we all depend on.”
