The Planning and Infrastructure Act: What It Means for the East of England

The UK Government’s latest reforms to the planning system, culminating in the Planning and Infrastructure Act, represent one of the most significant changes to England’s planning framework in more than a decade. Framed by ministers as a central tool for economic growth, the reforms aim to accelerate housing delivery and infrastructure development while reshaping the role of local authorities in the planning process.

For councils across the East of England, the implications are profound. The region is already central to the Government’s growth agenda, driven by expanding knowledge economies around Cambridge, Norwich, and Peterborough, as well as planned transport and infrastructure investment. Yet the region also faces significant challenges: constrained land supply, environmental sensitivities, and mounting pressure to deliver large volumes of new housing.

The new planning legislation is therefore both an opportunity and a test for local government in the East of England.

A Surge in Planning Applications

Recent data suggests the Government’s reforms are already beginning to affect planning activity. Figures, drawn from Planning Portal data indicate that planning applications for 335,000 homes outside London were submitted in England during 2025, representing a 60% increase compared with 2024.

However, while applications are rising, actual housing delivery remains weaker. Data based on Energy Performance Certificates (EPCs), often used as an early indicator of new housing completions, suggests the number of homes registered in England in 2025 fell slightly compared with the previous year.

This gap between planning approvals and completed homes highlights a persistent challenge in the English planning system: even when permissions are granted, development can take years to materialise.

For the East of England, the scale of the challenge is particularly stark. Government figures suggest the region has an annual housing target of around 45,429 homes, yet only about 26,674 homes were registered through EPCs in 2025. In other words, the region would need to increase delivery dramatically to meet national expectations.

Registered energy performance certificates compared with housing targets (2025)

Strategic Planning Returns

One of the most consequential changes in the new legislation is the reintroduction of strategic planning.

In 2010, regional spatial strategies were abolished by the coalition Government, leaving local plans produced by individual councils as the main planning framework. The new legislation effectively reverses that shift by requiring strategic authorities (i.e. Mayoral Combined Authorities) to prepare Spatial Development Strategies (SDS) that coordinate housing and infrastructure across wider areas.

The Government argues that large-scale growth, especially the delivery of its 1.5 million homes by 2029 target, cannot be achieved solely through fragmented local planning.

Strategic planning is intended to:

• identify where major housing growth should occur

• coordinate infrastructure such as transport and utilities

• provide long-term certainty for developers and investors.

For the East of England, this could be particularly significant. Housing demand often spills across local authority boundaries, especially in areas influenced by the Cambridge economy or commuter growth from London.

A strategic approach could help coordinate growth corridors, for example:

• the Cambridge–Peterborough corridor

• growth along the A14 and A11 corridors

• expanding towns in Essex and Hertfordshire commuter belts.

However, the governance arrangements remain controversial. In areas without mayoral authorities, the Government has proposed that county councils or unitary authorities will lead the strategic plans, potentially excluding district councils that actually determine most planning applications.

District council leaders have argued this risks creating a system where the bodies responsible for day-to-day planning decisions are excluded from strategic planning discussions.

Changes to Planning Committees

Another major reform concerns the way planning decisions are made locally.

Under the new Act, the Government will introduce a national scheme of delegation, designed to clarify which planning applications should be decided by elected councillors and which should be handled by professional planning officers.

In practice, the intention is that only the most significant or controversial applications will be determined by council planning committees, while routine applications will be decided administratively.

Supporters of the reform argue that it will:

• speed up decision-making

• reduce politically motivated delays

• provide greater certainty for developers.

Some think-tank analysts have suggested that more rule-based planning decisions could prevent relatively small schemes from becoming prolonged political disputes.

Local government organisations, however, have raised concerns about the implications for democratic accountability. The Local Government Association has warned that councillors’ role in planning decisions is a cornerstone of the English planning system and that reducing committee involvement could weaken local democratic oversight.

For councils in the East of England, where housing proposals often generate strong community responses, this tension between efficiency and local accountability may become increasingly visible.

Planning Departments and Resources

While the planning reforms aim to accelerate development, many councils argue that the biggest constraint on housing delivery is capacity within the planning system itself.

The legislation allows councils to set their own planning fees, enabling planning departments to recover the full cost of determining applications. Local authorities have long argued that nationally capped fees leave planning services underfunded and understaffed.

For East of England councils, improved resourcing could be particularly important. Rapid population growth and high housing demand mean many planning teams already face significant workloads. Recruitment of experienced planners has also become increasingly difficult nationwide.

Environmental Rules and Development

Environmental regulation has been another area targeted by the reforms.

Developers have long argued that environmental requirements—particularly those relating to biodiversity and nutrient neutrality—have delayed housing schemes across parts of England. The new legislation introduces Environmental Delivery Plans (EDPs), designed to standardise mitigation requirements for development.

Under this system, developers will contribute through a nature restoration levy, administered by Natural England, rather than negotiating mitigation measures on a site-by-site basis.

The Government believes this will simplify the process and remove barriers to development.

Critics, however, argue that the approach risks weakening local environmental protections. Some campaign groups have warned that environmental impacts could be “offset” far from the original development site, potentially reducing access to local green space.

These debates are particularly relevant in the East of England, where large areas of protected landscapes, farmland, and water-sensitive ecosystems intersect with development pressure.

The ‘Grey Belt’ and Land Supply

Another controversial aspect of the government’s planning reforms is the introduction of the concept of ‘grey belt’ land.

This refers to lower-quality areas within the traditional Green Belt—such as disused industrial sites or poorly performing agricultural land—that could potentially be released for development.

Supporters argue that this change unlocks land in locations with existing infrastructure and transport links. Planning technology firms have already attributed the rise in planning applications partly to the new policy.

For parts of the East of England—particularly Hertfordshire and Essex, where Green Belt constraints limit development—the grey belt concept could create new opportunities for housing growth.

But it remains politically sensitive. Many local communities see the Green Belt as a key protection against urban sprawl, and councils must balance national housing requirements with strong local resistance.

A Central Role in the Government’s Growth Strategy

The planning reforms cannot be separated from the Government’s broader economic ambitions.

Ministers have repeatedly framed planning reform as essential to unlocking economic growth, improving infrastructure delivery, and addressing the housing crisis.

Housing delivery is central to this agenda. The Government has committed to building 1.5 million homes during the current parliament, an ambition that would require annual construction levels not seen for decades.

Yet analysts caution that planning reform alone cannot achieve this target.

Construction labour shortages, rising building costs, and infrastructure constraints all continue to limit delivery. The Office for Budget Responsibility has already warned that subdued housing starts could mean a short-term decline in completed homes.

For the East of England, which combines high housing demand with environmental and infrastructure challenges, the success of the reforms will depend on how these wider constraints are addressed.

The Challenge for Local Government

For councils across the East of England, the Planning and Infrastructure Act signals a shift in how growth will be managed.

Local government will be expected to:

• deliver higher levels of housing

• work within new strategic planning frameworks

• operate under more centralised planning rules

• manage community expectations around development

At the same time, councils must ensure that growth remains sustainable, supported by transport, schools, healthcare, and environmental protections.

The tension between national housing ambitions and local planning realities is therefore unlikely to disappear.

Indeed, as some council leaders have pointed out, the planning system already contains permissions for hundreds of thousands of homes that have not yet been built. The challenge may be less about approving development and more about ensuring that projects move from permission to construction.

A System in Transition

The Government describes its planning reforms as a decisive break from a system that has constrained housing supply for decades. Ministers argue the changes will remove bureaucratic obstacles and accelerate development.

Local government organisations, while broadly supportive of efforts to tackle the housing crisis, remain cautious. Concerns about democratic accountability, planning capacity, environmental safeguards, and infrastructure funding persist.

For the East of England—one of the UK’s fastest-growing regions—the stakes are particularly high. If the reforms succeed, the region could see a significant expansion in housing and economic growth over the coming decade.

If they fail, the gap between national housing targets and local delivery could widen further.

Either way, the new planning framework marks the beginning of a new chapter for local government and the future shape of growth in the region.