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Judicial reviews streamlined to ‘get Britain building’

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Prime minister Keir Starmer has changed the judicial reviews process to help Nuclear plants, trainlines and windfarms be built quicker.

Credit: Norbert Kundrak via Pexels.

The changes aim to stop ‘blockers’ getting in the way of the government’s Plan for Change.

Current rules mean unarguable cases can be brought back to the courts three times.

This results in years of delay and hundreds of millions of cost to projects that have been approved by elected ministers, while also clogging up the courts.

According to the government, data shows 58 per cent of all decisions on major infrastructure were taken to court.

The government has confirmed this will be overhauled, with just one attempt at a legal challenge for “cynical cases lodged purely to cause delay rather than three.”

The current first attempt, known as the paper permission stage, will be scrapped, with primary legislation to be changed so it will not be possible to ask the Court of Appeal to reconsider.

To ensure ongoing access to justice, a request to appeal a second attempt will be allowed for other cases.

The approach aims to ensure ongoing access to justice and protections against issues of propriety, while pushing back against small pressure groups using the courts to obstruct decisions taken in the national interest.

Each legal challenge takes around a year and a half, on average, to be resolved and the courts have spent more than 10,000 working days handling these cases.

 Examples of stalled decisions include:

  • East Anglia wind farms – Delayed for over two years. 
  • Sizewell C – Taken to court by small activist group, with work left uncertain for two years and legal costs increased 
  • The A47 National Highway Project – former Green Councillor case dismissed as having ‘no logical basis’, after delaying the project by two years.

The government said these blocks also waste tax money, “with major road projects paying up to £121 million per scheme being dragged through the courts.”

Prime Minister Keir Starmer said: “For too long, blockers have had the upper hand in legal challenges – using our court processes to frustrate growth.

“We’re taking on the NIMBYs and a broken system that has slowed down our progress as a nation.

“This is the government’s Plan for Change in action – taking the brakes off Britain by reforming the planning system so it is pro-growth and pro-infrastructure.”

Last month, government finalised changes to the National Planning Policy Framework to accelerate housebuilding, confirming the increased 370,000 homes a year target.

Starmer also pledged to decide on at least 150 new infrastructure projects on top of its 1.5 million homes commitment.

Leo Quinn, Balfour Beatty Group Chief Executive said: “Today’s announcement is a vital step towards kickstarting major infrastructure projects more swiftly, while keeping essential safeguards in place. 

“Reducing the uncertainty that delays progress and drives up costs should help unlock significant economic benefits and enable faster delivery of the critical infrastructure that the UK urgently needs.

“This is a strong start and I look forward to seeing the full plans in the upcoming Planning and Infrastructure Bill.”

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