Defra to support development projects

The Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs (Defra) is to provide support in speeding up infrastructure delivery and homebuilding while at the same time, according to the government, protecting the environment.

The new role for Defra is part of a government announcement, made on 19 August 2025, about how environmental regulators support major development projects.

As part of the announcement, the government said it will set up a Defra Group Infrastructure Board. The Board is to accelerate the planning process for more than 50 major infrastructure projects, including East West Rail. The government hopes to intervene early in projects to prevent them from being set back by environmental concerns.

The government also announced the use of a Lead Environmental Regulator approach. Using this model, one environmental regulator will deliver a coordinated response on behalf of all regulators. With this approach, the government says it hopes to reduce delays caused by developers having to deal with multiple, overlapping authorities.