'Seismic' planning system reforms to be 'unleashed', government promises

The government has promised to “unleash seismic reforms” to the planning system under major new legislation being published on Tuesday.

The Planning and Infrastructure Bill is expected to include wide-ranging reforms to help deliver on Labour’s promise to build 1.5 million homes and make decisions on 150 major infrastructure projects by the next election in 2029.

Changes include making the planning process easier, giving communities living near new electricity pylons money off their energy bills and changing the way developers meet environmental obligations.

Deputy Prime Minister and Housing Secretary Angela Rayner said the government would create “the biggest building boom in a generation” by “lifting the bureaucratic burden which has been holding back developments for too long”.

She added: “The Planning and Infrastructure Bill will unleash seismic reforms to help builders get shovels in the ground quicker to build more homes, and the vital infrastructure we need to improve transport links and make Britain a clean energy superpower to protect billpayers.”

The bill is expected to include plans to allow more planning applications to be decided by planning officers instead of elected councillors, with council planning committees to be made smaller to “ensure good debate is encouraged”.

Planning fees will also be allowed to be set by councils to recover their costs, and “meritless” legal challenges to major applications will face a crackdown.

A new nature restoration fund will be introduced to allow developers to pay into larger environmental projects instead of funding single-site initiatives.

The government is hoping to avoid a repeat of the £100m “bat tunnel” HS2 was required to build.

And for those living near new electricity pylons, they will get up to £250 a year off energy bills for 10 years, as well as community projects such as leisure facilities to encourage communities to host major infrastructure.

Other consumers are likely to fund this through higher energy bills, however, the government expects this will only increase bills by a few pence per household when spread across the UK.

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Many of the details have yet to be decided and will have to go to consultation – including how the bill discount scheme will work and which decisions will be made by planning officers, not councillors.

One consultation will look at removing some organisations, such as the Theatres Trust and Sport England, from the list of bodies legally required to be consulted on planning decisions.

Consultations will run alongside the legislative process to allow new measures to be implemented quickly once the bill is approved, housing minister Matthew Pennycook said.

He also said decisions on “the most significant and controversial” applications would still be made by councillors.

The Home Builders Federation welcomed the proposals, with chief executive Neil Jefferson saying they will be “essential to getting more sites up and running”.

However, the changes to environmental rules could prove contentious.

Richard Benwell, CEO of nature coalition Wildlife and Countryside Link, welcomed some of the changes but said more enforcement is needed to “ensure that unsustainable development can never proceed without impunity”.

He said: “For nature recovery and development to go hand-in-hand, the bill should be strengthened with a guarantee that all planning decisions must be compatible with nature and climate targets, more protection for irreplaceable habitats and nature recovery areas, and new building regulations for biodiversity so that all infrastructure is wilder by design.”

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