Reeves takes aim at ‘blockers’ using judicial review to halt major projects

The Chancellor will take aim at those who attempt to halt major infrastructure projects in the courts, in the Government’s latest bid to boost economic growth.

The Government will cut the amount of time it takes for judicial reviews to move through the judicial system, Rachel Reeves announced.

Judicial reviews allow people who object to planning applications to challenge them through the courts.

This has seen communities probe the reasoning behind major projects like the Sizewell C nuclear power station.

Critics of the process, including the Government, claim it is used to purposefully frustrate projects, and effectively time them out through the exorbitant costs of leaving them on ice.

Under the latest plans to overhaul the planning system, ministers plan to work alongside judges and cut the time it takes for judicial reviews to move through the courts by as much as half a year.

Chancellor Ms Reeves said: “The previous government sided with the blockers, who held our economy to ransom for too long, abusing the lengthy judicial review process to delay critical national infrastructure projects and holding back economic growth.

“Our planning reforms are set to benefit the economy by up to £7.5 billion over the next 10 years, so whether through reducing the length of the judicial review process, tearing up burdensome regulations, or streamlining planning permissions with AI, we want to go further still by backing the builders, not the blockers, and deliver national renewal by getting Britain building.”

The Government was keen to point out that while 34 infrastructure projects which have faced judicial review since 2008, only four of those have seen the decision to halt them upheld.

The costs of the courtroom challenges are also vast, with the Treasury claiming that major road building schemes pay up to £121 million each to deal with legal proceedings.

Ms Reeves, who is attempting to sell the UK as an investor friendly country while on a trip to Washington DC, made the announcement just a day after ministers introduced a series of new planning reforms.

The series of amendments to the Government’s flagship planning Bill could speed up the building of new water reservoirs and onshore wind farms, as well as new homes.