UK Government Sets Out Plans for a New Approach to Environmental Regulation

The UK Government has recently set out, in a policy paper published by HM Treasury, the actions that it plans to take to ensure regulators “support growth”.[1] Whilst of the view that regulation can be an “essential tool to promote growth and investment”, the paper cautions that the current regulatory landscape is not functioning sufficiently effectively and that “now is the time for reform”. 

Key areas for reform include tackling complexity and the burden of regulation; reducing uncertainty across the system; and challenging and shifting excessive risk aversion in the system. To support with this, the Government intends to work with regulators where regulations are most complex, “starting with environmental and planning regulation”.

Planning reforms have been front of mind for the Labour Government for some time, with a number of changes intended to “get Britain building” set out in the recent Planning and Infrastructure Bill. Reforms to environmental regulation have perhaps received less airtime to date, but the pace of change appears to be accelerating. The paper makes reference to an independent review of the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs’ (Defra) regulatory landscape, to examine whether it is fit for purpose in driving economic growth and nature recovery. 

The review, known as the Corry Review, was published on 2 April 2025.[2] It includes 29 recommendations for improvements to designing and implementing environmental regulation, all of which the Government is “actively considering”.[3] The Government has noted that it will fast track nine measures, focusing on those with the “greatest impact for growth and nature recovery”: 

• Lead regulator: a single, lead regulator will be appointed for major infrastructure projects with the aim to speed up approvals. Pilot projects trialling the approach are to begin this year.
• Revamping environmental guidance: the Government will rapidly review existing guidance, including on protecting bats, to identify opportunities to remove duplication, ambiguity or inconsistency.
• Streamlined permits and guidance: the Government will update the Environmental Permitting (England and Wales) Regulations 2016 (EPR 2016) to allow regulators to make risk-based decisions on which activities should be exempt from environmental permits, in some cases removing them altogether for low-risk and temporary projects. 
• Planning permit portal: Defra will convene the environmental regulators to set out the work required to upgrade their digital systems for planning advice, including a single planning portal for all agencies.
• New Defra Infrastructure Board: this aims to accelerate the delivery of major infrastructure projects by facilitating greater collaboration and stronger oversight within Defra and its arm’s-length bodies.
• More autonomy: according to the Government, trusted nature groups will benefit from new freedoms to carry out conservation and restoration work without needing to apply for multiple permissions at every step of a project. 
• Green finance boost: a new industry-funded Nature Market Accelerator aims to boost investment into natural habitats.
• Strategic policy statements for regulators: the Government will implement clearer guidance and measurable objectives for all Defra’s regulators, starting with Natural England and the Environment Agency, to drive performance improvements and focus delivery on Government priorities. Progress will be closely monitored and reported on publicly.
• Rolling regulatory reform: a continuous programme of reform will be established to pinpoint rapid actions, quick wins, and longer-term areas for improvements to regulation.

The Government is making swift progress on its commitment to streamline permits and guidance. On 8 April 2025, it launched an eight-week consultation on changes to the EPR 2016.[4] The consultation closes on 3 June 2025, and businesses in scope of the reforms are invited to contribute.

The proposals relate to flood risk activities, waste operations, water discharge activities, and groundwater activities. In England only, they also relate to the forthcoming waste controlling and transporting activities which could be introduced to the regulations as part of any reforms to the waste carrier, broker and dealer registration system in England. The Government is considering reforming the process for exemptions to empower regulators – the Environment Agency and Natural Resources Wales – to use the proposed powers in the following ways, among others:[5]

• Taking speedy action: simplifying processes such as for bringing suitable land back into beneficial use for new housing or infrastructure, with the aim to support regional growth.   
• New permitting exemptions for certain flood risk activities: which could make it easier to install survey equipment for monitoring river flow and water quality.  
• Changes to “exemptions abused by rogue waste operators”: the proposals could enable regulators to tackle illegal activity more easily. 

In addition, the Government announced that it was carrying out a “rapid review” of local authority powers to enforce certain fly-tipping offences on 29 April 2025.[6] It is also expected to consult in June on a package of reforms to modernise permitting for industry and energy sectors. 

The Government’s approach is not altogether dissimilar to that of the European Union. On 16 April 2025, the European Commission launched a public consultation on the Industrial Decarbonisation Accelerator Act, which runs until 9 July 2025.[7] The Act is intended to support energy-intensive industries with decarbonisation efforts while maintaining competitiveness, with measures including streamlining permit granting and authorisations in a bid to reduce “permitting bottlenecks”.

Businesses holding environmental permits may wish to input into these consultations, to ensure that useful learnings and current experience can be appropriately flagged. More generally, businesses impacted by environmental regulation should monitor developments closely, to ensure that they are prepared to implement necessary changes. 

[1]New approach to ensure regulators and regulation support growth (HTML) - GOV.UK

[2]Delivering economic growth and nature recovery: an independent review of Defra’s regulatory landscape - GOV.UK

[3]Major reforms to environmental regulation to boost growth and protect nature - GOV.UK

[4]Exemptions Reform to the Environmental Permitting (England and Wales) Regulations 2016 - Defra - Citizen Space

[5]Environmental permit reforms to empower regulators to slash business red tape - GOV.UK

[6]Councils to seize and crush fly-tipping vehicles to clean up Britain - GOV.UK

[7]Industrial Decarbonisation Accelerator Act - speeding up decarbonisation