The landmark Planning and Infrastructure Bill, which the government says is at the heart of its plans to build 1.5 million new homes, has received Royal Assent.
The “seismic” planning reforms contained within the act will remove blockages and delays in the planning system to accelerate the construction of tens of thousands of new homes across the country, the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government said.
As well as facilitating home building, changes to planning legislation will speed up the building of “dozens of new roads, railway lines, windfarms, and key critical infrastructure,” MHCLG said.
As a crucial pillar of the government’s growth mission, the act aims to make Britain a more attractive place for business and create investment opportunities in major infrastructure and housing schemes.
Up to £7.5 billion will be invested into the UK economy over the next decade, which MHCLG said will create opportunities for home ownership.
“Britain’s growth has been held back by a sluggish planning system, slamming the brakes on building and standing in the way of fixing the housing crisis for good,” housing secretary Steve Reed said.
“Today that changes. Our landmark Planning and Infrastructure Act will tear down barriers to growth, and this means getting spades in the ground faster, unshackling projects stuck in planning limbo and crucially unlocking a win-win for the environment and the economy.
“We’re ushering in a new era to build 1.5 million homes that will give families a secure roof over their head, alongside key infrastructure to create high-paying jobs and power our homes and businesses. That’s exactly the Britain I want to see so it’s time to get on with the job and build baby build.”
Chancellor of the Exchequer Rachel Reeves said:
“We promised to grasp the nettle of planning reform – and we’re delivering. This landmark legislation ends years of dither and delay that has held back too many vital projects, like Lower Thames Crossing and Sizewell C.
“And we’re not stopping there, this government will leave no stone unturned to get spades in the ground – building the homes families need and the infrastructure our economy needs to thrive.”
With the act now in place, MHCLG said it will bring forward a wide range of measures “at haste” to speed up house building and the delivery of critical infrastructure.
Key changes include a limit to the number of legal challenges against government decisions on major infrastructure projects, changes to planning committees to focus on “the most significant” developments rather than smaller projects, and extra powers for development corporations to speed up delivery of large-scale projects.
Kate Henderson, chief executive of the National Housing Federation, said the act will unblock delays in the housing system. “It’s welcome to see the government push forward with its ambitious housebuilding agenda,” she added.
But Robert Bruce and Fergus Charlton, planning partners at Freeths LLP and Michelmores respectively, said progress will be slow.
“The latest act proves again the amount of time to make changes through primary legislation,” Bruce said.
“National planning policies are likely to be a quicker route for the changes the country needs, with a total re-write of national planning policies published in the draft National Planning Policy Framework issued for public consultation on 18 December 2025.”
“The Planning and Infrastructure Act has been incubating for a long time,” Charlton said.
“Only some parts of the act will be immediately effective. The remainder will gradually come into effect through a steady stream of government issued statutory instruments.
“For those parts there is still much work to be done. It is in the detail of those statutory instruments that we will be able to evaluate the true effectiveness of the act’s ability to achieve its objectives.”
