Key elements include the introduction of mandatory housing targets for local councils, focusing on areas with the greatest need and potential for growth, along with a requirement for councils to update their existing local plans, or to develop new ones that align with national housing objectives.

This will include councils identifying areas of land suitable for development, focusing on what has been termed “grey-belt” – lower-quality land on the greenbelt – and with a brownfield first approach.

Having emphasised its commitment to supporting developers and councils who are working to meet housing targets, the government has also announced that Local Planning Officers will have the power to approve policy-compliant applications without reference to the planning committee.

Written evidence submitted to the EAC by the Institute of Environmental Management and Assessment (IEMA) points out that speeding up sorely needed developments should not, however, come at the cost of protecting the environment.

IEMA urges that the key to sustainable development is ensuring that the right houses are built in the right places – the latter being determined by considering the environmental, social, and economic factors of proposed development sites and the communities around them.

In the submission, IEMA proposes that high quality Impact Assessments (EIA, SEA, SA, HIA, HRA) will be crucial to this undertaking. These essential tools form the basis of informed decision-making within the planning system, and any proposed development should benefit from the use of evidence-based practice to assess and manage environmental and social impacts to guide planning decisions.

A concern raised in IEMA’s evidence is that any reforms that are not accompanied by significant increases in capacity and resources across the planning system and statutory bodies will likely lead to increased delays, thus defeating the intended purpose of the planning reforms.

Ben Goodwin, Director of Policy and Public Affairs at the Institute of Environmental Management and Assessment, said: “Representatives across the whole spectrum of stakeholders in the planning reforms to housebuilding submitted evidence to the Environmental Audit Committee, from wildlife conservation groups to construction firms and social value consultants, to give their perspectives on how the housing crisis can be addressed without exacerbating the nature and climate crises.

“IEMA's written evidence stresses the importance of sustainable development in every sense of the word. That includes making sure that developments are built on the right land, preventing further degradation of the UK’s environment, and addressing areas that are the worst affected by the housing crisis.

“It also means that any houses built need to be built to last and affordable, using sustainable materials and technology, to serve their future communities as best as possible and enhance the local natural environment.”

Ongoing work behind the scenes also sees the Government moving away from a conventional approach based on Environmental Impact Assessment to one focused on Environmental Outcomes Reports (EOR).

Ben Goodwin said: “Neither the previous Conservative Government nor the current Labour Government have been clear about what constitutes a ‘good environmental outcome’.

“There is a huge risk that environmental safeguards are weakened without high-quality, evidence-based impact assessment in the planning process.

“These reforms present an opportunity to significantly improve the lives and health of people and communities, for example by implementing differentiation between projects that address local health burdens and improve health from those that do not. There are also opportunities for sustainable growth, which support the environment, for example - through recognising the broader roles of soils in climate resilience, biodiversity and food security.

“More broadly, there is real concern that the shift to an EOR approach isn’t being joined up with other aspects of government policy concerned with enhancing the natural environment. This includes, for example, the government’s flagship Environmental Improvement Plan, which is considered the main instrument for driving nature enhancement and is currently subject to revision itself.”

“IEMA is dedicated to supporting policymakers to create policies based on expert knowledge and experience and we continue to engage with the Government on proposed reforms to the NPPF and related policy development.”

To view the written evidence, visit here.