Government pushes reforms of ‘green tape’ in bid to boost growth and nature

The Government is pushing reforms to environmental regulations that aim to boost growth and nature and avoid repeats of the £100 million “bat tunnel”.

Ministers have said they will fast-track a number of recommendations in a government-commissioned review, which cautioned against a “bonfire of regulations” but called for reforms to guidance, regulators and the system.

It is hoped the reforms will speed up planning applications for farmers, businesses and major infrastructure, and reduce the chances of a repeat of the £100 million “bat tunnel” developed to protect 300 bats over a one-kilometre length of track as part of the HS2 rail project.

The review commissioned by Environment Secretary Steve Reed found there were more than 3,000 pieces of “green tape”, and developers had to seek permissions from multiple regulators, often without speaking to them in advance to understand how the rules would be implemented.

The assessment by economist and former charity leader Dan Corry said the current system was not working for economic growth or nature’s recovery.

In the wake of comments from Sir Keir Starmer and Rachel Reeves claiming the protection of nature such as jumping spiders and newts was blocking new infrastructure and housing, Mr Corry’s review cautioned against the aims of growth and conservation being seen as in “direct conflict”.

Reforming the system could deliver better for economic growth and to help nature recover, although there may be some “short term trade-offs”, he said.

But conservationists warned of the risks to nature of the reforms and called for a stronger regulatory focus on nature’s recovery.

Mr Corry made a number of recommendations including reviewing the existing catalogue of environmental guidance to remove duplication, ambiguity, or inconsistency.

Environment Department (Defra) officials said work had already begun on a rapid review of the regulations, including efforts to bring down 110 pages of bat guidance to just 10 pages.

Other recommendations the Government is fast-tracking are appointing a single lead regulator for major infrastructure projects, updating regulations to allow regulators to make decisions on which activities should be exempt from environmental permits, and setting up a single planning portal.

A new Defra infrastructure board will speed up delivery of major projects, for example by working with developers at an early stage and ensuring decisions are proportionate, to avoid future bat tunnels or the £15 million kittiwake nesting structures as part of the Hornsea 3 offshore wind farm.

And the Government is bringing forward plans to give more freedom to “trusted nature groups” such as the National Trust to carry out conservation and restoration work without needing multiple permits for schemes such as creating wetlands.

Also being fast-tracked are recommendations for a new “nature market accelerator” to bring coherence to private investment in nature, strategic policy statements for regulators and a continuous programme of reform.

But while the review also suggests reforming the Habitats Regulations, a move strongly resisted by wildlife groups who say they protect hundreds of the most important wildlife sites and species in England, the Government says it has no immediate plans to take up that recommendation.

The Government has already published a planning bill with wide-ranging reforms including streamlining the planning process, changing the way developers meet environmental obligations, and giving communities near new electricity pylons money off their energy bill.

And a nature restoration fund aims to enable developers to pay into a central fund to meet obligations to compensate for lost habitat, and it would then be up to an agency such as Natural England to secure benefits to nature on a “strategic” rather than individual site basis.

Announcing the latest reforms on Wednesday, Mr Reed said he was “rewiring Defra and its arms-length bodies to boost economic growth and unleash an era of building while also supporting nature to recover.

“Dan Corry’s essential report gives us a strong set of common-sense recommendations for better regulation that will get Britain building.”

Mr Corry said: “We must focus on good outcomes and nature enhancement, not on rigidly preserving everything at any cost.

“This review clearly shows that simply scrapping regulations isn’t the answer – instead, we need modern, streamlined regulation that is easier for everyone to use.

“While short-term trade-offs may be needed, these reforms will ultimately deliver a win-win for both nature and economic growth in the longer run.”

But Richard Benwell, chief executive of Wildlife and Countryside Link, warned: “The Government’s planning reforms fall far short of the win-win approach ministers want and Corry seems to support.”

He said the risk to nature in new Government planning laws were “high” and promised benefits were “wafer thin”, as he called for regulatory reform to deliver a simpler, stronger focus on environmental recovery.

And he said: “For too long, environmental regulators have been too poor and too weak to enforce the law.

“Their environmental duties have been too soft and vague to drive environmental recovery.

“In any reform, Defra must find strength with simplicity: all regulators and regulation must contribute to the urgent action needed to halt environmental decline by 2030.”

Harry Bowell, director of land and nature at the National Trust said: “Today’s review shows that achieving better outcomes for nature doesn’t have to mean wholesale deregulation or pitting nature against growth.

“We’re particularly pleased to see a new approach for partnering with trusted nature organisations, recommendations for unblocking barriers to investment in nature-based solutions to flooding and pollution, and work to improve the coherence of new environmental markets.”