Shadow Chancellor Rachel Reeves has set out ambitious plans to overhaul the UK's planning system, promising to remove bureaucratic hurdles and accelerate major infrastructure projects, including the controversial HS2 rail line.
Streamlining Development for Growth
In a major policy speech, Reeves criticised the current planning framework as "slow, cumbersome, and unfit for purpose," pledging that a Labour government would implement radical reforms to fast-track housing and transport schemes.
Key Proposals Include:
- Automatic approval for projects meeting environmental standards
- New fast-track routes for nationally significant infrastructure
- Greater powers for local authorities to designate growth zones
- Simplified compulsory purchase orders
HS2 and Beyond
The proposals come as the government faces mounting criticism over its handling of HS2, with costs spiralling and delays mounting. Reeves argued that her reforms would prevent similar issues with future projects.
"We cannot afford to have vital infrastructure stuck in planning limbo for years," Reeves stated. "These changes will help deliver the homes, transport links and clean energy projects Britain desperately needs."
Business Backing
The plans have received cautious welcome from business groups, with the CBI describing them as "a step in the right direction" for unlocking investment.
However, some environmental campaigners have expressed concerns about potential weakening of protections, though Labour insists its reforms will maintain strong environmental safeguards.
