Welcome to our overview of the Planning and Infrastructure Act 2025, focusing on what the legislation means for SME property developers and how it may influence planning processes, project viability and delivery timelines over the coming years.
What we’ll cover:
- What the Planning and Infrastructure Act 2025 is designed to achieve
- Which elements are now law and which still require further regulation
- How planning fee flexibility may affect development costs and decision times
- Reforms to planning committees and delegated decision-making
- The introduction of strategic spatial planning and what it means for site selection
- Changes to environmental compliance through the Nature Restoration Fund
- The likely rollout timeline and when impacts may start to be felt
- Practical considerations and next steps for SME developers
What is the planning and infrastructure act 2025?
The Planning and Infrastructure Act 2025 is a wide-ranging reform of the planning system, intended to accelerate housing delivery and remove barriers to infrastructure development across England. The Act is a major piece of legislation aimed at accelerating housing delivery and streamlining the planning process for critical infrastructure across England.
The government’s objectives include speeding up the delivery of new homes, modernising planning decision-making, introducing new strategic planning mechanisms, reforming environmental delivery, improving the efficiency of planning committees, giving local authorities greater flexibility over planning fees, and reducing delays within the planning system.
Although the headline focus is on large infrastructure schemes and nationally significant projects, the Act also has implications for SME property developers, particularly through changes to planning processes, fees, environmental compliance and long-term planning certainty.
What parts of the act are already in force?
The Act received Royal Assent on 18 December 2025 and is now law. This establishes the legal framework for reform and allows the government to begin implementing changes through secondary legislation and guidance.
For SME developers, it is important to note that there is currently no immediate change to the planning application process. Most practical impacts will follow later, once specific provisions are formally commenced and supported by detailed regulations.
What still requires secondary legislation or guidance?
Most of the Act’s provisions require further detail before they affect day-to-day development activity.
How will planning fees change?
Local authorities will be given the power to set their own planning application fees, with the aim of improving resourcing and speeding up decisions. The structure, limits and timing of these changes will be set out in future regulations.
For SME developers, this may result in higher upfront costs in some areas, potentially balanced by faster and more predictable planning outcomes.
How will planning committee decision-making be reformed?
The Act promotes greater use of delegated decision-making and introduces mandatory training for planning committee members. How this operates in practice will depend on national frameworks and guidance still to be published.
Over time, this may reduce delays for smaller or more straightforward schemes that are currently held up by committee timetables.
What are spatial development strategies and why do they matter?
The Act introduces Spatial Development Strategies to support strategic, cross-boundary planning and align housing growth with infrastructure delivery.
For SME developers, these strategies may provide clearer signals on where development is supported, reducing uncertainty when assessing sites, but the detail will emerge through future policy documents.
How will environmental compliance change?
The Act establishes a Nature Restoration Fund, allowing environmental mitigation to be secured through a levy-based approach administered by Natural England.
The level of levies, qualifying developments and compliance requirements have not yet been defined. SME developers should be prepared for new environmental cost considerations once regulations are published.
Do infrastructure reforms affect SME developers?
Reforms to the Nationally Significant Infrastructure Project regime are largely targeted at major infrastructure schemes. SME developers are unlikely to be directly affected unless their projects form part of larger, infrastructure-led developments.
What does the act mean in practice for SME property developers?
Will planning decisions become faster or more certain?
The stated aim of the Act is to reduce delay and increase certainty across the planning system. While much of the reform is targeted at larger projects, improvements in local authority capacity and process efficiency may benefit SME developers indirectly over time.
How should developers think about planning fees and budgets?
Greater flexibility over planning fees introduces short-term uncertainty. SME developers should plan for potential fee increases, while also considering the potential benefits of improved service levels and shorter determination periods.
Will environmental requirements become simpler or more complex?
A levy-based environmental mitigation model may simplify compliance for some sites, but it may also introduce new costs. Early appraisal and contingency planning will be important as further detail emerges.
Will it be clearer where development is supported?
Strategic planning frameworks may provide clearer signals on housing growth areas, helping SME developers make more informed land acquisition and scheme viability decisions.
Summary timeline: When are the changes likely to take effect?
Although the Act is now law, its impact will be delivered gradually through secondary legislation and guidance. SME developers should expect incremental change rather than a single implementation date, with different elements becoming relevant at different stages of a project.
Immediate (December 2025)
Royal Assent granted and the Act is formally in force. Government departments are empowered to implement reforms, but there are no immediate operational changes for SME developers.
Short term (early 2026)
Commencement regulations bring selected provisions into force. Initial guidance on planning committee reform and delegated decision-making is expected, alongside early signals on planning fee flexibility and environmental delivery models.
Medium term (mid to late 2026)
Revised planning fee regulations are introduced. Spatial Development Strategy frameworks begin to roll out in designated areas. Detailed guidance is published on the Nature Restoration Fund and environmental levies, alongside updates to Planning Practice Guidance and related policy documents.
Longer term (2027 onwards)
Strategic planning mechanisms become fully embedded, planning processes continue to be refined, and gradual improvements in planning speed, consistency and certainty emerge across the system.
What practical steps should SME developers take now?
SME developers can take several practical steps to prepare for the implementation of the Planning and Infrastructure Act 2025:
- Stay informed through industry briefings, professional advisers and government updates, as implementation will be incremental and detail will continue to evolve through 2026 and beyond.
- Monitor commencement regulations and planning guidance as they are published, particularly those relating to planning fees, delegated decision-making and environmental delivery.
- Review development appraisals to allow for potential changes in planning application fees, environmental levies and compliance costs, building in appropriate contingencies where detail is still emerging.
- Engage early with planning consultants, ecologists and local authorities to understand how reforms are likely to be applied locally and whether councils intend to change fee structures or decision-making processes.
- Assess current and pipeline sites against emerging strategic planning priorities, including any early indications of Spatial Development Strategy areas or infrastructure-led growth zones.
- Build flexibility into project timelines to accommodate transitional arrangements, changes in local authority processes or the introduction of new environmental mitigation mechanisms.
- Keep records of planning determination times and costs to benchmark performance as reforms are implemented, helping inform future site selection and programme assumptions.
What is the overall takeaway for SME property developers?
The Planning and Infrastructure Act 2025 represents a significant shift in the direction of the UK planning system. While its immediate impact on SME property developers is limited, the reforms it enables are intended to reshape how development is planned, assessed and approved over the coming years.
Much of the legislation is aimed at unlocking large-scale infrastructure and strategic housing delivery, but the knock-on effects for smaller developers are likely to be felt through changes in planning processes, local authority resourcing and environmental compliance frameworks.
For SME developers, the priority is to stay informed as secondary legislation and guidance emerge, plan for evolving costs and timescales, and remain adaptable in approach. Those who actively engage with local planning authorities, factor uncertainty into appraisals and adjust strategies as the new framework beds in are likely to be best placed to navigate the transition through 2026 and beyond.
Where can SME property developers find further information?
For SME developers wishing to explore the legislation and its rollout in more detail, the following resources may be useful:
UK government guidance
Planning and Infrastructure Act guides and factsheets
Parliamentary documentation
Full text of the Act and explanatory notes
Industry commentary and updates
Mortgage Solutions – planning reform coverage
Further technical briefings are expected as secondary legislation and guidance are published.