Labour strips environmental watchdogs’ powers to block building projects
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In the government’s latest push to grow the economy, regulators will no longer be able to demand developers mitigate the environmental impact of new buildings before they can be constructed. Labour will strip environmental watchdogs of their power to delay major house building and infrastructure projects under new laws to boost growth.
![[Steve Reed said the current system blocks economic growth and does not help nature’s recovery]](https://static.independent.co.uk/2025/01/21/10/ec977793-90f9-47cb-b85d-9d9de1618331.jpg)
In the government’s latest push to grow the economy, regulators will no longer be able to demand developers mitigate the environmental impact of new buildings before they can be constructed. Developers will instead be made to pay into a new fund for “nature restoration” to offset any potential damage, allowing them to proceed with new construction without delay.
Announcing the changes, environment secretary Steve Reed said nature and development have “been unnecessarily pitted against each other for too”. He said the current system is blocking economic growth, Labour’s number one priority, while doing nothing for nature’s recovery.
“These reforms will unblock infrastructure projects while protecting the natural environment we all depend on,” Mr Reed said. Deputy prime minister and housing secretary Angela Rayner said the current system had left “vital infrastructure being held up year after year”.
“That’s why we are taking a new approach to reversing this decline so developers can meet their environmental obligations at pace while removing needless barriers to build the infrastructure that local communities are crying out for,” Ms Rayner added.
