Tories to pledge to scrap Environment Agency and Natural England

The Conservative Party will use Monday’s conference to unveil a sweeping deregulation agenda that includes abolishing both Natural England and the Environment Agency, scrapping the Future Homes Standard and other net‑zero housing rules, and eliminating the Section 106 and Community Infrastructure Levy requirements that force developers to provide affordable homes and community facilities. Shadow chancellor Andrew Griffith will present the plan as a “one‑stop” levy on developers, promising to cut the price of a new house by £50,000, while also pledging to back the expansion of Heathrow Airport and to withdraw from the Aarhus Convention, which currently gives community groups a legal route to challenge developments. The proposals are framed as a response to the party’s poor poll performance, with leader Kemi Badenoch positioning the “Right Way” policy document – a nod to Margaret Thatcher’s 1976 manifesto – as the foundation for a growth‑focused government that can win the next election.

The core of the Conservatives’ strategy is to replace a complex web of environmental and housing regulations with a streamlined, business‑friendly framework that they argue will unlock housebuilding and lower costs. By moving the functions of Natural England and the Environment Agency directly into the Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs, the party claims it will remove “unnecessary costs” that are currently hindering construction. The abandonment of the Future Homes Standard, which requires all new homes to be zero‑carbon ready, and the replacement of existing planning obligations with a single developer levy are intended to accelerate the delivery of new homes, reduce the need for affordable‑housing quotas, and speed up infrastructure provision such as schools and GP surgeries. Griffith will also argue that the current tax code is overly complicated, promising a simplification drive for individuals and businesses as part of the broader deregulation push.

The announcements have already drawn sharp criticism from opposition leaders and some within the party. Labour leader Keir Starmer and Greater Manchester mayor Andy Burnham, who has expressed personal scepticism about a third runway at Heathrow, are expected to challenge the Conservatives’ claims that deregulation will not harm environmental standards. The new shadow housing secretary, Katie Lam, framed the scrapping of enforcement bodies as a way to prevent “anti‑growth ideologues” from blocking development, while critics warn that moving regulatory functions into Defra could weaken oversight and exacerbate climate concerns. The party’s pledge to leave the Aarhus Convention and to fast‑track a third runway, despite local opposition, signals a willingness to prioritize growth over community and environmental safeguards, setting the stage for a contentious debate on the balance between economic expansion and ecological protection as the next general election approaches.

⚡ Effects Interpreter