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The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) has opened an eight‑week consultation proposing a simplified permitting regime that ministers say would give firms “greater flexibility” and cut waiting times. The move follows recommendations in the Corry Review, an independent report commissioned to examine whether environmental regulation is supporting or hindering innovation and growth.

Under the plans, the Environment Agency would be given powers to:

• Introduce a registration route for low‑risk installations such as data centres and standby generators, shortening permit lead times from months to potentially days
• Allow time‑limited trials of novel technologies — for example using hydrogen as an industrial fuel — through a more “common‑sense” approval process, enabling faster market testing
• Issue flexible permits that set a single overall emissions cap for a site instead of separate limits for individual processes, a model used in some other countries including the United States. The government says this would remove duplication and streamline compliance while still capping pollution

Officials argue the reforms will help industry adopt new technologies, support clean power deployment, improve air quality and contribute to cleaning up rivers, lakes and seas.

The consultation frames the reforms as a response to what it calls an outdated, risk‑averse regulatory system highlighted by the Corry Review. The review concluded that the current environmental permitting framework can be inefficient, difficult to navigate and sometimes discourages industry from innovating. It recommended a reset of the regulatory approach so that it both protects public health and the environment and enables technological change and economic growth.

The Corry Review, led by a panel of experts tasked by government, made a series of recommendations intended to rebalance regulation and innovation. Among the principal suggestions were:

• Simplifying permitting processes to reduce duplication and speed decisions, including more proportionate approaches for low‑risk activities
• Introducing time‑limited, trial permits to allow safe experimentation with emerging technologies — such as hydrogen, carbon capture and utilisation, and novel industrial processes — without imposing full, long‑term permitting requirements at the outset
• Moving toward outcome‑ or performance‑based regulation (for example, site‑level emissions caps) rather than prescriptive, process‑level controls, to give operators flexibility in how they meet environmental limits
• Increasing regulatory capacity and capability within regulators to make quicker, better‑informed decisions and to engage constructively with industry
• Encouraging better use of data, monitoring and digital reporting to streamline compliance and enable transparency
• Promoting international best practice and alignment where appropriate, to facilitate trade and investment while maintaining environmental protection

Supporters of the review argue these steps would unlock innovation and investment in low‑carbon technologies while keeping environmental safeguards in place; critics warn there is a risk the changes could weaken protections if not strictly managed.

Environmental permitting has been credited with significant improvements in emissions over recent decades: industry emissions have fallen substantially in the last 30 years, a decline government sources say has delivered more than £52bn in health, ecosystem and productivity benefits. Nevertheless, industry and some investors have long complained that permitting delays and complex rules hold back new projects and add cost.

Environmental groups and some local campaigners have previously expressed concern that moves to streamline processes can lead to weaker oversight or reduced public scrutiny. They say any reforms must maintain rigorous standards, strong monitoring and effective enforcement to protect communities and nature.

The consultation will run for eight weeks. Defra and the Environment Agency will review responses before shaping any legislative or regulatory changes. Any reform will have to balance promises of faster approvals and greater business flexibility with the statutory aim of preventing pollution and protecting public health.

Air Quality Minister Emma Hardy said: “Britain is the birthplace of the industrial revolution and supporting science and innovation is a central pillar of our mission to drive economic growth.

“Through the Plan for Change, our once-in-a-generation reforms will streamline regulation for vital industrial sectors that protects the environment while enabling growth and innovation.”

Environment Agency chief executive Philip Duffy said: “Modernised regulation can help deliver growth, innovation and protect the environment and communities.

“Today’s consultation marks a positive step forward in efforts to make our regulatory regime fit for the future, with proportionate but robust rules that enable the UK to compete globally whilst supporting nature’s recovery.

“The Environment Agency will match this ambition with improvements in how we deliver the regime, with better IT, faster turnaround times and a commitment to support sustainable growth across the economy.”

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