Legal reforms to unblock building in Britain

New plans to restrict weak judicial review challenges are being formulated to help speed up housing, transport and energy projects across Britain.

The government has launched a consultation on new measures to prevent baseless legal challenges from delaying thousands of new homes and major infrastructure projects. The proposals would extend judicial review reforms beyond nationally significant projects to cover major housing developments, road schemes, solar farms, and other strategically important construction.

Judicial review allows citizens and organisations to challenge government decisions in court – a vital safeguard for fairness and the rule of law. However, ministers argue that some claims lack merit and are being used primarily to delay development, adding significant costs and pushing back projects that create jobs and drive economic growth.

The six-week consultation will explore targeted changes, including limiting repeated unsuccessful legal attempts and introducing clearer court timetables to resolve cases more quickly. The government emphasizes that access to justice will remain protected, but says weak challenges should not hold back nationally important work.

This builds on reforms already introduced through the Planning and Infrastructure Act 2025 and recent court rule changes, which have already streamlined legal challenges for large-scale projects. Since the start of this Parliament, the government has made 42 decisions on major infrastructure projects – twice the number made at the same stage in the previous Parliament.

New figures show that an estimated 392,400 homes have been delivered since the start of this Parliament, representing more than a quarter of the government’s 1.5 million target.

Additional changes coming into force next week will remove mandatory pre-application consultation requirements for nationally significant infrastructure projects. This move alone could cut up to 12 months from planning timelines and potentially save industry £1 billion over the course of this Parliament.

Minister for Courts and Legal Services, Sarah Sackman KC MP, yesterday said: ‘Britain needs more homes, better transport links and new infrastructure. Legal challenges which lack merit should not be allowed to hold back the developments that create jobs, drive growth and strengthen communities.

‘Judicial review will remain a vital safeguard, but it cannot be a vehicle for delay. We want to protect access to justice while getting nationally important projects built faster.’

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