Government planning shake-up risks bulldozing nature and local democracy

The government has announced new measures for "unshackling Britain to get building". Under proposed amendments, the Secretary of State would be able to block local councils from rejecting planning applications, sideline independent environmental advice from Natural England and fast-track major housing, water, and energy projects with reduced public scrutiny.

Paul de Zylva, nature campaigner at Friends of the Earth, said:

"This Bill is being sold as ‘getting Britain building', but it's really a developer's charter that risks bulldozing vital environmental protections. This is unnecessary – we can build homes without wrecking nature.  Ministers have spent 2025 blaming bats, snails and nature laws for housing delays instead of tackling the real problems – unaffordable housing and developers sitting on existing permissions.

"Steve Reed's 'Build Baby Build' mantra should focus on forcing developers to build out the hundreds of thousands of homes they've already got planning permission for, not trashing more nature to squeeze out poorly located schemes on floodplains.

“Cutting red tape must not come at the expense of nature – just look how deregulation contributed to the sewage crisis. The prospect of blocking councils from rejecting bad housing schemes tramples on local democracy and hands even more power to developers who already dominate the system.”

ENDS