Planning reforms will ‘avoid bat tunnels’, says minister
The Government is set to publish wide-ranging reforms to planning laws on Tuesday.
Landmark planning reforms unveiled on Tuesday will “avoid bat tunnels” that have added to the cost of major projects, a minister said.
Described by the Government as introducing “seismic reforms”, the Planning and Infrastructure Bill is expected to overhaul how developers meet their environmental obligations, replacing site-specific schemes with a fund for larger projects.
Housing minister Matthew Pennycook said this would lead to “more sensible outcomes” than the £100 million “bat tunnel” that HS2 was required to build.
The tunnel has become a lightning rod for criticism of the planning system, with the Prime Minister describing it as “absurd” and the Chancellor saying it summed up demands that made major infrastructure projects too slow and expensive.
Mr Pennycook told Sky News: “We want to avoid bat tunnels.
“The bat tunnel is a symptom of a system that is failing to produce optimal outcomes, both in terms of development and in terms of nature recovery and restoration.”
Some environmental groups have tentatively welcomed the proposals but sought to push back against the argument that they are “blockers” in the planning system and called for more guarantees.
Richard Benwell, chief executive of nature coalition Wildlife and Countryside Link, 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.”
The changes to environmental rules are part of a wide-ranging Bill that the Government hopes will mean faster approvals for planning applications for projects such as housing developments and major infrastructure.
These include streamlining the process so more decisions are made by planning officers rather than elected councillors, a crackdown on “meritless” legal challenges to major projects and a reduction in the number of bodies legally required to be consulted on planning applications.
Deputy Prime Minister Angela Rayner said the Bill would “unleash seismic reforms” and create “the biggest building boom in a generation” by “lifting the bureaucratic burden which has been holding back developments for too long”.
The Government also hopes that overhauling the planning system will help meet its target of building 1.5 million new homes by the next election.
Although Labour has not set an annual target, that would require building around 300,000 homes per year but the latest figures show just 221,450 homes were completed in the year to September 2024 – a 7% fall compared to the previous year.
On Tuesday, Mr Pennycook blamed the “real trough” in housing completions on “anti-supply” policies introduced by the previous government, particularly the abolition of mandatory housebuilding targets.
Acknowledging that there would have to be a rapid increase in housebuilding over the next five years, he said he could see “green shoots”, adding: “There are positive indications in the number of planning applications going in, and so we are turning things around.”
Tuesday’s Bill is also expected to include plans for a scheme that will give households living within 500 metres of new electricity pylons up to £250 a year off their energy bills over a 10-year period.
As well as requiring energy companies to provide funding for projects such as leisure facilities in affected areas, the move is intended to encourage communities to host vital infrastructure.
The discounts will be funded by a small increase in bills for people in other parts of the country but Mr Pennycook said the Government expected this to be only between 80p and £1.50 per year.
He added: “Over the long run, because we are deploying more renewable energy, more homegrown, clean energy, the cost of everyone’s bills will come down.”
