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Major developers will only deal with one regulator under planning reforms which ministers say will “rewire the system” to get Britain building – all while protecting the environment. 

A review by former Labour adviser Dan Corry into Britain’s sluggish system of green regulation has concluded that existing environmental regulators should remain in place, while rejecting a “bonfire of regulations”.

But Mr Corry suggested there might be circumstances in which the government look at changing the wildlife and habit rules inherited from the EU, which protect individual species.

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These lie at the centre of the controversy of a £120m bat tunnel – the shed in Aylesbury which protects a rare breed from future high speed trains.

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The government has now explicitly ruled out any such change in this parliament.

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Campaigners have questioned whether the changes go far enough and will make a major difference to the rate and scale of building in the UK.

Speaking to Sky News, Environment Secretary Steve Reed insisted that accepting nine of the recommendations from the Corry review would amount to wholesale reform.

The minister said: “We can get a win-win for economic growth and for nature. And that is why we are moving ahead with proposals such as appointing a lead regulator for major developments so that the developers don’t have to navigate the architecture of multiple regulators.

“They just work for a single regulator who manages all the others on their behalf. Simplifying the online planning portal.

“These are huge changes that will save developers billions of pounds and speed up decisions doing damage to the environment.”

Mr Reed insisted that there would be “no more bat tunnels” built, even though the Corry review suggests that more work needs to be done to look again at the relevant guidance.

It says: “Rapidly reviewing the existing catalogue of compliance guidance, including on protecting bats, will identify opportunities to remove duplication, ambiguity or inconsistency.

“Natural England has already agreed to review and update their advice to Local Planning Authorities on bats to ensure there is clear, proportionate and accessible advice available.”

The review will mean:

• Appointing one lead regulator for every major infrastructure project, like Heathrow expansion

• A review on how nature rules are implemented – but not the rules themselves

• Insisting regulators focus more on government priorities, particularly growth

Economist and former charity leader Mr Corry, who led the review, said it shows that “simply scrapping regulations isn’t the answer”.

“Instead we need modern, streamlined regulation that is easier for everyone to use. While short-term trade-offs may be needed, these reforms will ultimately deliver a win-win for both nature and economic growth in the longer run.”

However, Sam Richards from Britain Remade, a thinktank trying to get Britain growing, said that while the steps are welcome, the number of regulators that report to the environment department would remain the same before and after the review. He questioned whether this would have the impact ministers claimed.

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Starmer ran the gauntlet with Trump but just about emerged intact

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Starmer ran the gauntlet with Trump but just about emerged intact

When TV cameras are let in to film world leaders meeting in person, the resulting footage is usually incredibly boring for journalists and incredibly safe for politicians.

Not with Donald Trump.

Sir Keir Starmer ran the gauntlet on Monday.

Trump latest: President treats PM to a ride on Air Force One

Put through a total of almost 90 minutes of televised questioning alongside the American leader, it was his diciest encounter with the president yet.

But he still just about emerged intact.

For a start, he can claim substantive policy wins after Trump announced extra pressure on Vladimir Putin to negotiate a ceasefire and dialled up the concern over the devastating scenes coming from Gaza.

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There were awkward moments aplenty though.

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Trump calls London mayor a ‘nasty person’

Top of the list is Mr Trump’s trashing of the prime minister’s Labour colleague, London mayor Sir Sadiq Khan.

But more important than that, Monday’s meeting was the clearest representation of the political gulf that separates the two leaders.

“He’s slightly more liberal than me,” Mr Trump said of Sir Keir when he arrived in Scotland.

What an understatement.

Read more:
Trump reignites row with Sir Sadiq Khan

EU leaders resigned to US trade deal

U.S. President Donald Trump meets with British Prime Minister Keir Starmer at Trump Turnberry golf club on July 28, 2025 in Turnberry, Scotland, Britain. Christopher Furlong/Pool via REUTERS
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The two leaders held talks in front of the media. Pic: Reuters

On green energy, immigration, taxation and online regulation, the differences were clear to see.

Sir Keir just about managed to paper over the cracks by chuckling at times, choosing his interventions carefully and always attempting to sound eminently reasonable.

At times, it had the energy of a man being forced to grin and bear inappropriate comments from his in-laws at an important family dinner.

But hey, it stopped a full Trump implosion – so I suppose that’s a win.

My main takeaway from this Scotland visit though is not so much the political gulf present between the two men, but the gulf in power.

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Trump gives Putin new deadline to end war

Sir Keir flew the length of the country he leads to be the guest at the visiting president’s resort.

He was then forced to sit through more than an hour of uncontrolled, freewheeling questioning from a man most of his party and voters despise, during which he was offered unsolicited advice on how to beat Nigel Farage and criticised (albeit indirectly) on key planks of his government’s policy platform.

In return he got warm words about him (and his wife) and relatively incremental announcements on two foreign policy priorities.

So why does he do it?

Because, to borrow a quote from a popular American political TV series: “Air Force One is a big plane and it makes a hell of a noise when it lands on your head.”

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Big brands are sleepwalking when it comes to stablecoins

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Big brands are sleepwalking when it comes to stablecoins

Big brands are sleepwalking when it comes to stablecoins

With Amazon and Walmart exploring stablecoins, institutions may be underestimating potential exposure of customer data on blockchains, posing risks to privacy and brand trust.

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ECB adviser doubts digital euro can match US dollar stablecoins

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ECB adviser doubts digital euro can match US dollar stablecoins

ECB adviser doubts digital euro can match US dollar stablecoins

The European Central Bank may rely on regulated euro stablecoins and private innovation to counter the dominance of US dollar stablecoins, says adviser Jürgen Schaaf.

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