US EditionGovernment accused of watering down environment rules in housebuilding proposals
- The UK government proposed easing biodiversity net gain rules and speeding housing development on smaller sites on May 30, 2025, to boost new homebuilding across England.
- The changes respond to concerns that smaller and medium-sized developers face cost and planning hurdles under current rules requiring habitat improvements for new homes.
- Plans propose a new classification for medium-sized developments of 10 to 49 homes that would feature streamlined environmental regulations and relief from the building safety levy to help lower expenses and speed up the process.
- The head of the Wildlife and Countryside Link warned that excluding smaller developments from habitat compensation rules could result in nearly 75% of projects not needing to offset environmental impacts, potentially undermining the effectiveness of the biodiversity net gain framework.
- The reforms seek to fulfill Labour’s commitment to increase housing supply to 1.5 million new homes by 2029–30 by providing £100 million in loans to support smaller builders, though there are concerns this may compromise environmental safeguards.
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'Not our remit' - Authorities pass the buck on environment, public space issues
Representatives of several authorities including the Planning Authority, the Environment and Resources Authority and the Police have declared they are not responsible for issues affecting Malta’s environment such as overdevelopment and excessive noise.At a recent conference entitled “Putting Residents First” organised by Flimkien għal Ambjent Aħjar, representatives of the PA, ERA, the Occupational Health and...
Evening Standard+2 Reposted by 2other sources
Planning reforms seek to boost smaller developers to build homes faster
The Government will set out proposals to cut red tape and for planning decisions to be shifted away from councillors and towards expert officers.
·London, United Kingdom
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Leaning Left4Leaning Right1Center4Last UpdatedBias Distribution44% Left, 44% Center
Bias Distribution
- 44% of the sources lean Left, 44% of the sources are Center
44% Center
L 44%
C 44%
11%
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