News

Rachel Reeves changes the landscape

Over the last week or so there has been more from a government keen to demonstrate its commitment to growth.  Last weekend Chancellor Rachel Reeves announced a zoning scheme around commuter transport hubs.  We have since heard support for a third runway at Heathrow and a European Silicon Valley in the Oxford – Cambridge Arc and other schemes including new reservoirs and redevelopment of Old Trafford.  A working paper “10 Year Infrastructure Structure” was published on the 27th, seeking to cut costs and provide certainty.  We were also given a timescale for the Planning and Infrastructure Bill, key to implementation of the government’s growth commitments.

The zones around commuter transport hubs will benefit from a presumption in favour of development, aiming to quickly secure housing growth in areas easily accessible to workplaces.  It is not yet clear how local input into design and density of development will be incorporated.

The Planning and Infrastructure Bill will be introduced in Spring.  In the meantime “Streamlining Infrastructure Planning” a working paper, was published on 26 January.  It provides additional information on the Bill content: streamlining decisions on nationally significant infrastructure projects; reducing consultation requirements; increasing clarity within statutory guidance and National Policy Statements.

On Thursday Rachel Reeves invited an application for a “badly needed” third runway at Heathrow, and attracted criticism from various environmental bodies and from her own party.  The controversial scheme clearly fits with the current growth agenda and, it is argued, can be delivered in a decade with climate commitments met.  I cannot help but feel sceptical about any application taking a smooth course allowing for such speedy delivery, despite the new restrictions to judicial review of nationally significant infrastructure scheme decisions announced in December! 

Other changes to the treatment of environmental factors are also attracting criticism.  A pre-Christmas working paper explored ways to discharge environmental obligations more effectively and efficiently, pooling funds to take strategic interventions in line with a delivery plan.  The responsibility for implementing the actions will shift to the state, paid for through developer contributions, with developers addressing site level residual harms.  We will find out the detail of the “clear and simple” Environmental Outcome Reports, replacing environmental impact assessments, when a roadmap is published in the coming months.

If you'd like assistance in relation to the issues raised please do contact Janine Shaw at jshaw@ortolan.com

 

Posted on 02/03/2025 by Ortolan

Get in Touch

If you would like to know more about Ortolan Legal and how we can help you reduce your ongoing recruitment costs, get in touch!

Email us now

   Or call 020 3743 0600

I have worked with Ortolan Legal since 2010 and used their services extensively. They have provided corporate and commercial legal advice and we have also drawn on their capability in the areas of employment law, dispute resolution and property law. What makes them so different is their ability consistently to deliver commercially focussed and high quality advice at a price point which simply cannot be matched by other law firms. They aim to strip out unnecessary overhead costs, concentrate on the quality of their core service and pass on these cost savings to their clients. It works.

Charlie Blackburn, Entrepreneur and co-founder of Brighttalk
See All

Meet the Team

  • Nick Benson Nick Benson I qualified as a commercial and corporate solicitor…
  • Liz Delgado Liz Delgado I qualified as a solicitor in 1995 after studying…
  • Carrie Beaumont Carrie Beaumont I qualified as an Employment specialist in 2008. I…