New government rules aim to speed up planning approvals for homes, transport and energy projects

The government has unveiled a package of reforms designed to accelerate major infrastructure projects and housebuilding, including across the West Midlands, by overhauling the way environmental regulators operate.

New Strategic Policy Statements will direct Natural England and the Environment Agency to prioritise outcomes over process, backed by £100 million over three years to fund specialist staff and digital systems. 

A new Infrastructure Unit will also be established to resolve planning problems as they arise, government said.

Environment Secretary Emma Reynolds said the changes give regulators “a clear mandate to deliver on our twin missions, economic growth and nature recovery.”

“This is a win-win situation for jobs, prosperity and nature,” she added.

East West Rail boost

Among the most key details in the announcement is the appointment of the Environment Agency as “lead environmental regulator” for the East West Rail scheme, resurrecting the railway between Oxford and Cambridge.

The government said the move replaces a fragmented system of overlapping bodies with a single point of contact.

East West Rail chief executive David Hughes said it would “ensure that key decisions can be made efficiently and effectively,” helping communities feel the economic benefits of the project sooner.

The railway is expected to unlock £6.7 billion in economic growth, support 100,000 new homes and improve services between Oxford and Cambridge. It forms part of the Oxford-Cambridge Growth Corridor, which could add up to £78 billion to the UK economy by 2035.

The measures support the government’s commitment to build 1.5 million homes and fast-track 150 planning decisions on major infrastructure projects before the end of this Parliament.