- Judicial review reforms considered to unlock major homes and infrastructure projects
- Plans to reduce costly delays caused by weak legal challenges
- Changes to accelerate growth and help deliver 150 major infrastructure decisions
Thousands of new homes and major infrastructure projects could be unblocked under plans being considered to reduce delays from legal challenges.
Today (Thursday 16 July), the Government launched a consultation on extending judicial review reforms beyond Nationally Significant Infrastructure Projects (NSIPs) to major housing, transport and energy developments – such as solar projects, road building or affordable homes
While judicial review remains a vital safeguard, the consultation will explore targeted reforms – including limiting repeated unsuccessful attempts to bring claims and introducing clearer court timetables – to prevent weak and meritless challenges from holding up nationally important projects, while protecting access to justice and the rule of law.
The proposals build on reforms already introduced through the Planning and Infrastructure Act 2025 and changes to court rules, which streamlined judicial review for NSIPs, helping to reduce delays, deter weak and meritless claims and ensure cases are resolved more quickly.
Minister for Courts and Legal Services, Sarah Sackman KC MP, 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.
The six-week consultation comes as the Government seeks to accelerate planning decisions and deliver 150 major infrastructure decisions this Parliament, helping remove barriers that slow development and unlock economic growth. To date, the Government has made 42 decisions on major infrastructure projects – double the previous Parliament’s tally at this stage.
The consultation will seek views on whether reforms should focus on major infrastructure projects and other strategically important developments. It will also consider how any changes can be carefully targeted to avoid undue pressure on court resources while maintaining access to justice.
This builds on reforms announced in May to streamline legal challenges by introducing a fixed legal challenge window for NSIPs, cutting delays from meritless claims and speeding up delivery of transport, water and energy schemes.
It comes as the latest figures show an estimated 392,400 homes have been delivered since the start of this Parliament to 14 June 2026 – more than a quarter of the Government’s 1.5 million homes target.
The Government has also confirmed changes coming into force next week to remove mandatory pre-application consultation requirements for NSIPs, cutting up to 12 months from the planning process and potentially saving industry £1 billion this Parliament.
These reforms build on changes already made to the National Planning Policy Framework and form part of the Government’s wider drive to make the planning system faster, more predictable and better equipped to deliver the homes and infrastructure Britain needs.
