Wave through Environmental Regulations

Ministers tell Environment Agency to wave planning applications through.

Officials say they have been told to do as little as legally possible to
prevent approvals for housebuilding. The Environment Agency has been told
by ministers to wave through planning applications with minimal resistance
as part of a regulatory shakeup designed to increase economic growth and
plug the government’s financial hole. Officials at the agency say they have
been told to do as little as legally possible to prevent housing
applications from being approved and the government has drafted in senior
advisers from the housing department to speed up the process. Some believe
the existence of the agency is under threat given Rachel Reeves’s push to
eliminate government quangos as part of her dash for growth. Government
officials insist this is not the case.

Guardian 19th Sept 2025

https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2025/sep/19/ministers-tell-environment-agency-to-wave-planning-applications-through