Rachel Reeves to protect ‘critical’ clean energy projects from legal challenges

Rachel Reeves is ​preparing to announce a planning shake-up ‌that would fast-track clean energy ​and infrastructure projects by curbing judicial reviews, the ​Treasury said. The chancellor will propose that parliament should be able to designate and approve the most important clean energy projects as of “critical national importance”, as part of a wider package seeking to blunt the impact of the Iran crisis. “That would reduce the exposure from judicial review on all but human rights grounds,” the Treasury said. It comes as pressure grows on the government to accelerate its energy infrastructure development to meet its goal to build a virtually zero-carbon power system by 2030. Renewable energy developers have long bemoaned the difficulty in gaining planning permission for projects, from offshore windfarms to onshore solar and battery storage developments, and waiting times to connect to Great Britain’s electricity grid. The Treasury says Rachel Reeves ‘is clear that parliament must take back control’. Photograph: Toby Melville/Reuters A spokesperson for the Treasury said that vital infrastructure delivery had been “delayed by judicial reviews of projects the country needs”. They added: “The chancellor won’t stand for it any longer and is bringing forward bold changes to support delivery. …