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• Tue May 27 2025

Environmental rules reviewed for small housebuilders

10 hours ago Share Save Joshua Nevett Political reporter Share Save

PA

Environmental rules that force developers in England to improve wildlife habitats could be eased under government plans to make it easier to build homes on smaller sites. The government is reviewing Biodiversity Net Gain (BNG) requirements, under which builders must compensate for the loss of any nature on housing developments. Ministers say they are considering how costs can be reduced for smaller housebuilders whilst also delivering habitats for wildlife. The proposals are part of a package of housing reforms to be set out by the Labour government on Wednesday. The Conservatives said they had been pushing the government to do more to support small businesses.

Housing Secretary and Deputy Prime Minister Angela Rayner wants to simplify the planning system to speed up house-building on smaller sites. There are plans to ease BNG requirements for minor developments of up to nine homes and give trained planning officers rather than councillors the power to approve them. Ministers have also suggested exempting sites of between 10 and 49 homes from a tax to fund the removal of unsafe cladding. The government said smaller firms had seen their market share shrink since the 1980s, when small- and medium-sized builders delivered 40% of the country's homes. "For decades the status quo has failed them and it's time to level the playing field," Rayner said. "Today we're taking urgent action to make the system simpler, fairer and more cost effective, so smaller housebuilders can play a crucial role in our journey to get Britain building." The shadow secretary for local government, Kevin Hollinrake, said Labour was "stripping councillors of the right to vote on local planning applications, concreting over green belt and withdrawing support for first-time buyers". He said Rayner would bring "higher taxes and less say over development in your community". Ministers hope these policy changes will help them reach the government's stated aim of building 1.5m new homes in England by 2030. Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) figures released in March suggested housebuilding would fall short of the 1.5 million target, even with planning reforms previously outlined earlier this year. The government argued that further reforms not factored into the OBR forecast would help it reach the number. Last year saw a record low for housing projects granted planning permission in England, with just over 30,000 projects given the go-ahead.