Government planning regulation changes to fuel house building

April 8, 2025 by Alan

House building

The Government has announced that it is planning to get rid of a number of regulations concerning the environment, in the hopes that this will make it easier to build new homes on a large scale.

The Labour government is aiming to build 1.5 million homes between now and the next election and it has concluded that existing regulations are standing in the way of that. A review of them has just been published by the Department of Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, which suggests that they are out of date and overly complicated. This review argues that they must be cut back to stimulate building.

It puts forward a total of 29 changes that could be made, and the government has confirmed that it is considering implementing those recommendations. The man at the head of the review is Dan Corry, an economist.

According to Mortgage Strategy, Corry stated that:

“Planning reforms and a new Nature Restoration Fund will unlock much-needed housing delivery and infrastructure whilst supporting nature recovery at scale.”

The government has already announced some changes that are designed to make building easier. It has brought in a single regulator with the aim of simplifying and speeding up the planning application process. It has also appointed the Defra Infrastructure Board, which is charged with getting major projects underway more quickly and efficiently.

Most professionals with the CeMAP mortgage advisor qualification would welcome such changes. Getting houses built across the country is essential if young people are to be able to get on the property ladder.