In a major speech on economic growth on 29th January 2025, the Chancellor, Rachel Reeves, confirmed backing for a third runway at Heathrow and said she has been “genuinely shocked” by how slow the wider planning system is. The Chancellor has also pledged to create “Europe’s Silicon Valley” by the development of a growth corridor between Oxford and Cambridge and confirmed there have been 18 submissions for proposed new towns in the region. The Prime Minster, Sir Keir Starmer, confirmed in The Times that the Government is committed to developing pro-growth deregulation strategies to remove the barriers to building. The proposed planning reforms are all aimed at making the planning and infrastructure system more efficient and are another indication that planning is firmly at the top of the agenda for achieving sustained economic growth which is the defining mission of the Government.
In addition to the new NPPF, the Government has announced the following proposed reforms:
- Infrastructure Planning and Judicial Review Reform – the Government plans to reform rules relating to judicial review challenges to major infrastructure decisions which is aimed at streamlining the infrastructure planning system as set out in the Planning Reform Working Paper: Streamlining Infrastructure Planning published on 25th January 2025. The new rules will only allow one attempt to challenge cases which are deemed totally without merit and are lodged solely and often cynically to cause delay which previously could be brought back to the courts three times. The first attempt known as the paper permission stage will be abolished. To ensure ongoing access to justice, a request to appeal a second attempt will be allowed for other cases. Similar reforms to rules that allow legal challenges to planning decisions would be welcome to prevent vexatious litigants stalling development for years.
- Compulsory Purchase and Compensation Reforms – the Government proposes to reform compulsory purchase order (CPO) powers to enable councils and other relevant bodies to buy vacant land more cheaply from landowners without having to pay “hope value” costs, namely, what the land could be worth if developed on in the future, if the development is in the public interest. Other changes include allowing decisions on CPOs to be confirmed by inspectors and if there is an agreement with the landlord and no objection, by the acquiring authority itself, as currently these must be agreed by the Secretary of State which is a lengthy process. There are also suggestions for councils to nominate sites suitable for housing where no application has come forward. This is all aimed at making the CPO process more efficient, fairer and quicker. The consultation on the proposed reforms is open until 13th February 2025.
- Nature Restoration Fund – the Government published proposals on 22nd January 2025 to unblock vital infrastructure which removes the requirement for developers to secure site-specific environmental mitigation or compensation before securing planning permission which can be a lengthy process. Instead, developers will pay into a centralised fund which will be used to support nature restoration at a strategic level rather than on a site-by-site basis which will enable development to proceed. New measures are proposed in the forthcoming Planning and Infrastructure Bill to “unblock much-needed infrastructure projects whilst supporting nature recovery at scale” which will speed up the delivery of vital infrastructure and reduce costs and delays in the planning process.
For further information please contact Wesley Fongenie, Stephen Webb, or Anjana Ghosh in our Planning Team.
This update is for general purpose and guidance only and does not constitute legal advice. Specific legal advice should be taken before acting on any of the topics covered. No part of this update may be used, reproduced, stored or transmitted in any form, or by any means without the prior permission of Brecher LLP.
