Environment minister Emma Hardy today revealed that changes to the environmental permitting system will reduce waiting times for permits. This aims to get businesses building and delivering new housing and infrastructure.

As it stands, certain activities such as site investigation works, storage of waste materials and drainage operations are required to acquire environmental permits before they can begin.

Changes to the permit system will speed this process up as low-risk activities will be exempt from the permit application process, subject to appropriate controls.

Projects such as solar and onshore windfarms, that do not require ongoing operational permits, will be able to be constructed without the need for any environmental permits where the right conditions apply.

Some low-risk temporary activities undertaken by individuals and SMEs will also no longer require a permit, where appropriate conditions are met.

The government suggests this could save £360 based on the average permit cost, and reduce delays caused by waiting for permits to be issued.

It highlights that there will be safeguards in place to ensure that decisions do not come at the expense of the environment.

Objectives already in the regulations will still apply, so exemptions will include appropriate controls and conditions needed to uphold environmental protections.

The Environment Agency will be required to consult on any proposed exemptions, based on transparent assessments of risk.

Commenting on the announcement, Hardy says: “We are committed to ensuring that environmental regulation works for everyone – protecting our towns and countryside from harm and delivering sustainable development.”

“As part of the Plan for Change, a common-sense approach to environmental permitting in England will boost economic growth and unleash an era of building, while also keeping people and the environment safe.”

“As the regulatory agency for environmental permitting, the Environment Agency will be responsible for determining the use of these exemptions in a targeted manner to support construction projects in England.”

The Environment agency chief regulator Jo Nettleton adds: “Protecting the environment and sustainable development can and must go hand-in-hand. We welcome the Government’s efforts to drive economic growth through a more proportionate permitting regime.”

“We have engaged closely with the consultation on reforms to environmental permitting, and look forward to continuing our work as a fair and proportionate regulator for people and the environment while supporting business and sustainable economic growth.”

These changes form part of the government’s wider target of building 1.5m new homes, along with the infrastructure to support them.

Last week, the government announced new emergency measures to tackle the housebuilding crisis in London.

The emergency measures, which are subject to consultation, are set to “significantly ramp up housebuilding, unlock stalled sites and ensure more affordable homes are being built across the capital”.