The raft of reforms to the National Planning Policy Framework also giving a “default yes” to planning applications near railway stations and a requirement that new builds include nature-friendly features, such as installing swift bricks, to support wildlife.
Matthew Pennycook, Minister of State for Housing, said the changes would “get Britain building again”.
“They will not be without their critics, But in the face of a housing crisis that has become a genuine emergency in parts of Britain, we will act where previous governments have failed,” he said.
The changes to England’s Biodiversity Net gain rules exclude developments under 2,000 sq m of land under a drive to make it easier to build homes on smaller sites. The government says this will apply to an estimated 12,500 homes a year.
Nature campaigners had feared the government would go further, but say the move still risks “hollowing-out one of the most important nature protection policies in a generation”.
“It’s good that exemptions are narrower than originally proposed, but this is still damage limitation, not positive leadership for nature,” said Richard Benwell, CEO of Wildlife and Countryside Link, a coalition of conservation groups.