Trainlines, windfarms and nuclear power plants will be built quicker after rule changes as part of the government’s Plan for Change.
Government says that current rules mean unarguable cases can be brought back to the courts three times – causing years of delay and hundreds of millions of cost to projects that have been approved by democratically elected ministers, while also clogging up the courts.
Data shows that 58 per cent of all decisions on major infrastructure were taken to court, getting in the way of the government’s central mission to grow the economy, and put more money in hardworking people’s pockets.
The government has confirmed this will be overhauled, with just one attempt at legal challenge for cynical cases lodged purely to cause delay rather than three.
This approach aims to strike the right balance between ensuring ongoing access to justice and protections against genuine issues of propriety, while pushing back against a challenge culture where small pressure groups use the courts to obstruct decisions taken in the national interest.
On average, each legal challenge takes around a year and a half to be resolved – with many delayed for two years or more – and the courts have spent over 10,000 working days handling these cases. This is holding back working people and is getting in the way of our progress as a nation. For example, in East Anglia wind farms were delayed by a group which dragged the case through the courts and lost at every turn – delaying it for over two years.
Prime Minister Keir Starmer said, “For too long, blockers have had the upper hand in legal challenges – using our court processes to frustrate growth. We’re putting an end to this challenge culture by taking on the nimbys and a broken system that has slowed down our progress as a nation. This is the government’s Plan for Change in action – taking the brakes off Britain by reforming the planning system so it is pro-growth and pro-infrastructure.”
The current first attempt – known as the paper permission stage – will be scrapped. And primary legislation will be changed so that where a judge in an oral hearing at the High Court deems the case Totally Without Merit, it will not be possible to ask the Court of Appeal to reconsider. To ensure ongoing access to justice, a request to appeal second attempt will be allowed for other cases.
The government has also set out major reforms to end the block and delay to building homes and infrastructure from current environmental obligations. A government spokesperson said, “The new common-sense approach won’t allow newts or bats to be more important than the homes hardworking people need, or the roads and hospital this country needs.”
However, a new Nature Restoration Fund will enable developers to meet their environmental obligations more quickly and with greater impact – accelerating the building of homes and improving the environment.
Keith Anderson, CEO of ScottishPower, said, “We’ve consistently said we’ll increase our investment in the UK if the government can enact meaningful reforms that speed up planning and unlock economic growth. We welcome today’s announcement as an important step forward, in line with our commitment to doubling our investment in UK electricity grids and renewable energy to £24 billion by 2028.”
Tom Glover, UK Country Chair of RWE said:, “Climate change protection and low energy bills will only be achieved through the timely delivery of energy infrastructure. We therefore welcome the government’s focus on streamlining the planning process to ensure nationally significant energy infrastructure cannot be frustrated by objections with no merit.
“As a leading developer and investor in energy projects, RWE values close and meaningful consultation with host communities and these proposals, in addition to the establishment of the Nature Recovery Fund, will minimise unnecessary and costly delays to the delivery of energy projects that are the bedrock of economic growth.”
While responding positively to the news, Rob Hindle, Executive Director at Rural Solutions, sounded a note of caution. He said, “We welcome change that will enable investment in national infrastructure and help to deliver the sustainable development needed to meet the nations’ housing needs. Any actions that help to reduce pressure on the Courts must also be positive.
“The prospect of a national Nature Restoration Fund to enable developers to meet environmental obligations more quickly is interesting. The government’s thinking on this was outlined in a Planning Reform Working Paper: Development and Nature Recovery published in December 2024 and bears closer examination. Whilst the principle of streamlining the process and aggregating funding from development to drive nature recovery is attractive, the approach proposed is very state led, and we are concerned about the possible implications for farmers and land managers who have invested in the creation of habitat banks. There is much to unpick, and it will be important to see how the details develop as this new Fund comes forward.”