Housing: Portsmouth
The question
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, pursuant to the answer of 15 September 2025, to Question 75442, on Housing: Portsmouth, if he will make an assessment of the potential impact of the Conservation of Habitats and Species Regulations 2017 on the Government's target to build 1.5 million houses by the end of this Parliament.
Answered by Matthew Pennycook
My Department has no current plans to undertake a specific assessment of the implications of the Conservation of Habitats and Species Regulations 2017 on housing supply, but we continue to keep all policy under review as we progress toward our hugely ambitious Plan for Change milestone of building 1.5 million new homes in England in this Parliament.
While it is the role of competent authorities to carry out an assessment under the Habitats Regulations to test whether a plan or project could adversely affect the designated features of a European site, the government is clear that the Habitats Regulations Assessment process should be applied appropriately and proportionately, with decisions based on the best available scientific evidence.
We are working closely with stakeholders to improve the functioning of the Habitats Regulations. This includes acting on the recommendations of the Corry review and the Post-Implementation Review of the Habitats Regulations.
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